2023 Tesla Model Y Complaint Log

The steering wheel locked and stiff, wasn't able to turn. The was very dangerous as my wife and kids could have gotten into a serious accident. We are no longer comfortable with driving this vehicle even if Tesla repairs so we would like a refund

Tesla Model Y Emergency Braking applied on a freeway while driving with Enhanced Auto Pilot putting me and my family at high risk when there was no emergency whatsoever. My lane and the lanes either side of me were free and there was no traffic.

Power steering went out twice, both from changing gears once was mid drive second time was going from park to reverse.

I experienced so called Phantom braking several times. First time it happened i wasn't aware about this and look up online and realized that this is a known problem and Tesla is aware of this. It is a safety issue when traveling on highway the vehicle unexpectedly slows down by about 20-30 mph. I complained to Tesla but they only gave me generic answer w/o any solution and plans to fix the problem. I noticed that Phantom braking happening mostly when i'm passing the big semi's, but not always. I have to always be on alert and make sure nobody follows me too close.

I was driving through a busy nyc street very slowly. Probably 10 mph or less. I was on a red light. then i moved forward when the light turned green, my handle felt weird and the car was moving side ways. I first thought it was the tire that blew off. So I immediately stopped the car and had my husband look at the tires. No holes, no pressure was lost. I thought it was so odd, so I started moving forward a little bit, again. Something felt very off. We stopped again and looked throughly and realized the right rear wheel was twisted while the other three remained straight. This is our brand new car that was just picked up 7 days ago. We just simply couldn’t believe our eyes. My whole family including my husband, my two kids (7,10), our dog and myself were in the car and I can’t imagine ourself being in the same situation if we were on a highway at a faster speed. We’d probably dead by now. I didn’t hit anything, i was going 10 mph, there was nothing on the street. And the wheel getting twisted like that just doesn’t justify anything but a defect.

Phantom braking happening regularly when auto driving cruise enabled on highways w no oncoming traffic.

While Driving the car the steering became unresponsive, this almost created like a death situation for me. Tesla should be held accountable.

Steering wheel locked up while driving and making a turn

4 times on our 300-mile trip on I-90, where it is a 4-lane divided highway, our Tesla braked unexpectantly (phantom braking) at highway speeds in excess of 65 mph. There were no warning bells or chimes - just violent unexpected braking for no apparent reason. There were no obstructions in the lanes ahead of us and no apparent reason for the sudden braking. Fortunately, there were no cars immediately behind us. But it was extremely unsettling to have the car unexpectedly brake.

I bought a brand new tesla, only to find out that it was not emitting any sound slowly driving forward, but only when in reverse. I read through the cars manual and there it says the car should make a sound moving forward under 19mph, to warn pedestrians of the oncoming tesla (my car). If the car does not do that, then to immediately contact Tesla service. I did that and Actually so was there at my Tesla service station in Burbank CA in person and they said to me, I should not worry what their own manual for the car says. The car is not to make a pedestrian warning sound forward, but only when in reverse. To be honest, that seems wrong to me. Please advise. Thank you for your time and consideration. Kind regards, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Driving west on John McCain road (after turning off of I-26 S) in Colleyville, TX. Numerous times, with no oncoming traffic, no cross traffic and clear conditions / visibility PHANTOM BRAKING caused speed to drop (while on cruise control @ ~35 MPH) down to 18-19 MPH. There was NO REASON for it to brake / stop and there was a car behind me, which was forced to stop. I'm sure they thought I was crazy / brake checking them. Clearly the Tesla Adaptive Cruise / Front Sensors (uses only cameras on my model now I believe) caused the braking for now reason. This is a huge issue.

lost all power steering today on model Y 2023 tesla.

- Failed system: Steering wheel was locked up in the middle of driving. Driver was making a right turn at an intersection. Suddenly a "Steering Assist Reduced" UI_a020 warning appeared on screen, and driver was unable to turn the wheel. No autopilot in any level whatsoever was turned on. - Safety risk: Driver hit another car due to the loss of control of the vehicle. Thankfully it happened in a city intersection. If it happened on a highway, much more damages and casualties might have been incurred. - Reproducing the problem: Right after the accident, driver was ordered to pull the car over to the side. But even after a few restarting of the car, the UI_a020 warning reappeared sporadically. From that time we completely stopped driving the car and drove it only occasionally to load/unload it to tow trucks. So we did not have much chance to reproduce the problem. We have some photos and video clips of the UI_a020 warning taken on the date of the accident. - Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others?: Not yet. Currently the vehicle is at a Tesla Approved body shop (collision center) for repair. - Any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure: There was no UI_a020 warning that we recall prior to the time of the accident. This could be unrelated to the UI_a020 issue, but one day before the accident, I was trying to unlock the car using my cell phone, but the car did not recognize it. Only after turning off and on the Bluetooth several times was I able to unlock the car. This had never happened before and after.

On [XXX], I was at [XXX] waiting for green light, as soon as the light changed. I hit the drive but the car suddenly lost control and speed up and I couldn’t stop. I try my best not to hit any people or any cars and ended up hitting the board on the right. I never smoke or drink alcohol. never did any drugs, I didn’t hold phone. It was absolutely an uncontrollable incident very unfortunate but totally out my control I wish this never have happened as I have good driving record. Thank you, your honor ! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The incident occurred because the car in front of me made a sudden stop (there was a 3-car accident ahead of the car in front of me). In response to the sudden stop I hit the brakes hard on my car but my car failed to completely; it kept moving forward until I hit the car in front of me. I was not tailgating the car in front of me and had plenty of room to stop as I braked. Video recording from the Tesla showed the sufficient distance between my car and the car in front of me. I re-recorded using my phone, I can upload it for your review but the size is about 30MB and in .mov format

During the late afternoon of Saturday, Sep 9 on my way to Jackson, WY from Dallas, I was driving northwest on US Hwy 287 approximately between Vernon, TX and Clarendon, TX and experienced almost a dozen severe phantom braking incidents in the span of 1 hour. My windshield was clean, the weather was sunny and hot. The only thing I could see on the roadway was surface heat reflection/mirage (when the road surface gets hot and you see a mirror-like reflection). I did not experience this issue again until late afternoon on Friday, Sep 15 on US Hwy 87 between Raton, NM and Capulin, NM when I experienced 3 severe phantom braking incidents within a 10-minute timeframe. I recorded on video the 3rd incident and disengaged Autopilot/TACC for the remainder of the day. Video avail upon request.

I got the dreaded ul_a020 error - "Steering assist reduced" today while driving our model Y - barely 3 months old with 2K miles. The steering became very stiff and I could barely move it, had to use all my forrce to rotate the steering wheel and move the car to the side. it very scary, I parked, got out and then drove again, it happened again. Thankfully I was not too far away from home, so somehow got back. The steering is not smooth anymore now.

While on cruise control on US-93 North bound on between mile marker 116 and 110 ghost breaking occurs. Can cause an accident. It happened multiple times.

Steering felt odd and was pulling to the extreme right, which caused contact with a curb. After driving about a mile after contact, car lost steering and both front wheels were turned inward. Tesla claimed contact with curb caused the steering gear and rack to break-they did not take into consideration that car steering was not workin correctly before impact. Component is not available for inspection. Safety was a factor since I couldn't steer. Has not been reproduced or confirmed by an independent service center. Component not inspected by anyone other than Tesla service center in San Francisco, Ca. No warnings re:steering or any other issues.

Airbag did not deploy / system failed at the time of the car accident happens. My safety was at risked during the time of accident. There were no indications, warning, messages or symptoms of the problems when the accident occurred.

Power steering appeared to be off when trying to drive car. Could not turn wheel at all. Car was towed to tesla service and told the power steering rack has an internal issue and needs to be replaced.

Our Tesla seems to be experiencing regular phantom braking events. We just had an event today while traveling on the freeway. Our Tesla unexpectedly applied the brakes without warning as if it was trying to avoid a collision. No objects were in sight. Our cruise control was active and we don’t have autopilot.

I was driving from Austin to Houston on 5-Sep-2023 when the car stop from 70MPH to zero w/no reason and nothing in front of us; this phantom stop event is real - my daughter and wife were very scared and made me not use the adaptative cruise control for the rest of the trip. I don't have paid for FSD, I was very upset because was the start of the trip and I did not use the car for 2+ hours trip since

Steering wheel locked after only 9k miles on the car. Won’t turn so cannot drive the car. Brand new car. God forbid this happens while driving the car on road.

The vehicle completely locked me out. It was unresponsive to key card access as well as unresponsive to mobile app access. I was unable to unlock or open any door/latch/trunk or frunk. I’m no one was inside because they would’ve been stuck with no way out. This is a major safety concern. I happened to be in a safe area but if this were on a really hot day or if people/minors/children were in the car, it could’ve been fatal. This is a design flaw in the vehicle. If the 12V battery dies, the car locks and you cannot get in or out.

During driving this vehicle on road, this steering wheel wheel was suddenly locked, and cannot be turned. This caused the vehicle stopped making any turns. There was no any warning/messages/symptom before this incident happened. I had to go straight and stopped/parked the vehicle on roadside. After several power off and restarting, the steering wheel was still locked. Called Tesla tech support, the problem cannot be solved. Then had the vehicle been towed to Tesla service center. Tesla technician confirmed seeing error log info. It is under investigation now.

When accelerating to highway speed the automatic emergency braking (AES) erroneous engaged. The AES appeared to register a tie-down strap going from the center front of the model Y to the cargo on the roof as a pedestrian. This resulted in the car coming to a complete stop while merging onto the highway (decelerating from approx. 45 mph to a complete stop) which risked causing a rear end collision. The AES again erroneously engaged when puling to the side of the road. I disengaged the AES, but the pedestrian warning continued to light-up sporadically for the remainder of the trip at a range of speeds (although braking did not engage). Prior to the AES engaging there was no warning or alarm. There has been no inspection of the vehicle. A "bug report" is being filed with Tesla.

Abrupt, rapid, unannounced deceleration with no apparent cause. Has happened multiple times.

While driving I lost the ability to steer. The steering wheel completely locked almost. This was a huge safety risk, as I was in the middle of a busy road in Los Angeles. I went to the Tesla service center today and they were closed. No warning lights came on. The same thing happened again today.

On September 3/2023 at around 9am I was driving my Tesla Y. I stopped on a traffic light on an intersection and on my green light started to turn left. However my steering wheel was not turning, it has stuck. It was very scary because of the intense incoming traffic. I turned my car on parking and then started again but nothing has changed. Tried this a few times without any success. My car only moved straight forward and backward. Then two drivers stopped and started to help me. They stopped incoming traffic and one of them helped me to turn the steering wheel left to move my car from the middle of the intersection. Two of us barely did this together and moved the car to the side of the road.

We parked the car in parking lot of a grocery store. Someone was able to open the car using his/her phone key and drove off and when realized a mistake, parked the car a mile away. At the same time, there was another car which was responding to my Tesla phone app. I called 911 to report stolen car and using the Tesla app which reported the correct location after 15 min, were able to get the car back. This is safety issue as someone was able to open the car using a different phone key and could have created a lot of trouble if it would not have been just a mistake.

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving with the Autonomous Self Driving feature activated, the feature became inoperable. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact used the APP, and the vehicle was repaired Over-the-Air (OTA). The contact stated while driving again with the Autonomous Self Driving feature activated, the failure recurred, and the safety features became inoperable. The contact stated that the camera was operable but not communicating with the ADAS- Autonomous Self Driving feature. The contact sent a message to the local dealer to schedule an appointment. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the ADAS-Autonomous Self Driving started working but then became inoperable again. The contact stated that the failure was related to the ADAS-Autonomous Self Driving System software failure. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 1,000.

We enabled Tesla Auto-pilot on the highway. We were driving in the middle lane and there was a truck on the left of us and another vehicle on the right. The truck on the left moved a little towards us but stayed in its lane. The autopilot suddenly turned sharply left. But since there was a car there, it suddenly turned right towards the truck. At this point, I hit the brakes and disabled the auto-pilot. We have not used it since then.

The driver's side mirror vibrates when in movement making it nearly impossible to see anything with it. I have tried to get it repaired but Tesla has stated that "there is no update on this. The concern arose earlier this year for new delivery Model Y's. For right now, we know Tesla is in the middle of creating a new part but there is no update on when it will become available for replacement at this time." It appears that many are complaining about the uselessness of the mirrors and the unresponsiveness to Tesla on this issue. The car was delivered with this issue but I was told that Tesla is working on this.

I bought Tesla in May 2023. My Tesla Model Y has suddenly accelerated in my garage on 08/29 @8.25pm EST and damaged my garage front door/drywall and broken my stair case in pieces. It was phantom acceleration. I have video from my ring security system camera video which shows clearly that I was parking in my garage extremely carefully, however the Tesla Model Y suddenly accelerated beyond my control (I was not accelerating) and put me under risk and damaged my property. I have auto insurance to cover my Tesla car damage. However, my biggest fear is how can I use this Tesla Model Y when we see this life threatening behavior. This unintended acceleration can put my life and others life into danger. I would like help from NHTSA to ensure my Tesla Model Y is defect free. I just bought couple of months ago. I would like to request NHTSA to help me get this product replaced from Tesla motors. I am afraid to drive this vehicle now. I am currently going through a big shock, trauma and fear that I may have severely injured people on the road or my family members in garage if this unintended sudden acceleration would have happened around them. The damaged vehicle is outside my garage. It is not drivable. Vehicle front bumper is completely damaged and fluid has been leaking. I have filed insurance claim. I don't know what should I do right now. I would like to seek advice from legal sources on my options. My car is covered under my insurance, however I don't know if my car is fixed - I can drive this vehicle with confidence due to this strange unintended acceleration issues. Please help me at the earliest.

On August 28, 2023, driving back from golf at Tijeras Creek, the vehicle noted several faults: cruise control disabled, autopilot disabled, parking brake disabled, and others. We parked in Newport Beach and the vehicle failed to move—appears the parking brake locked up. The vehicle was taken to Tesla for repair; the vehicle had 4,423 miles on the odometer when it was taken to Tesla for repair. The technician states that they identified the brake fault, removed and replaced the right brake caliper.its disabled the vehicle from safe operation. September 21, 2023, the vehicle was driven locally 23 miles and the condition returned. This time the vehicle was in a shopping mall and the parking brake would not release, disabling the vehicle. Screen shots of the fault codes were taken to preserve the evidence. Eventually, the operator was able to shimmy the vehicle forward and return to the house. On October 4, 2023, only 90 miles after repair by Tesla, the exact same condition—parking brake function degraded. The vehicle, again, refused to disengage the parking brake. The vehicle suffered again the problem that rendered the vehicle inoperable. The vehicle was again towed. On October 13, 2023, the vehicle was picked up from Tesla service for repair of the THIRD DEFECTIVE AND DANGEROUS CONDITION; the vehicle was driven locally and, on the freeway, to determine if Tesla had actually corrected the dangerous and defective condition. After about two hours in varying conditions and 90 miles, the vehicle was parked in the garage overnight. In the morning, the vehicle was loaded for an outing, and again the DANGEROUS AND DEFECTIVE CONDITION occurred. This time, the vehicle could not be backed out of the garage; The tow truck was called

I went on vacation with my wife and [XXX] son to Canada on this vehicle. On August 27, 2023 around 1700 hrs while I was on highway-40 from Montreal to Quebec city the car screen suddenly displayed “ Car is shutting down , immediately pull off to a safe area, emergency brake disabled”. Battery showed 59 % charge at that time. I managed to pull the car at intersection between highway and an exit before it totally stopped and became non-responsive in less than a minute. I started communicating via text with TESLA help line after attempting to reboot the screen which did not resolve the issue. While this communication was going on vehicle got badly rear ended by a passing car. We were all wearing seat belts and thanks to that we juts had mostly bruises but my son suffered agonizing psychological trauma and kept on crying incessantly for long. He also had an injury on right knee from a piece that shattered from the rear door which also got jammed after the impact. TESLA helpline said since accident has happened they will not be able to assist further, rest of the matter should be sorted out with my insurance. Some good Samaritans stopped the traffic for us and helped us leave the car immediately to the outer border of the exit road fearing that battery may catch fire as a result of impact burning everyone down. The car was later towed to a nearby facility arranged by Police and declared totaled by my insurance. It was some kind of electronic glitch which made car hung up like a computer but TESLA has so far not acknowledged that or offered any assistance. Of note on TESLA app when we press Roadside assistance, it leads to --> Drivability concern which displays first option as --> Shut down while driving. Its a serious issue needs thorough investigation. We all could have been dead if hit by a bigger vehicle and could have been multiple vehicle accident on a high speed highway. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

This is a report of a RECURRING problem commonly known as "phantom braking." When I take long trips in this vehicle at legal freeway speeds and with the Adaptive Cruise Control and Auto Steer (lane keeping) functions engaged, the vehicle will occasionally reduce speed suddenly and violently (emergency braking) even if there are no vehicles ahead and no visible hazards whatsoever. This occurs without warning and for no reason when cruising on open, straight interstate highways. In a typical 5-8 hour driving day on long trips, this will occur 1-2 times daily. If other vehicles were to be following closely behind, this would certainly cause a serious rear end collision or pile up. The vehicle gives no advance warning and no alarms sound. The car just brakes suddenly and violently scaring the bejesus out of my spouse. I have learned to step hard on the accelerator the moment this occurs which will partially offset the severe braking action so that any vehicles behind do not need to brake suddenly. I do wonder what the heck any drivers behind think when they see the Tesla suddenly brake hard then accelerate immediately back to speed. I worries me too that some aggressive driver behind might think I am doing this intentionally and get into a road rage incident with me. People have been shot and killed for less. I don't understand why this has not yet been addressed seriously by Tesla or NHTSA. This is a SERIOUS and dangerous defect! Thank you.

Steering system completely failed during driving. Thankfully I was in a parking lot at the time. The car had to be towed to my home from over 100 miles away. I’m towing it back to Tesla service this morning, August 28, 2023.

Car seat belt sign is on when there is no one sitting in passenger seat .

Power steering failed repeatedly. Car was extremely difficult to steer. This only happened at low speeds, so there was no immediate danger. The car displayed various error messages. Took the car to the dealer, they confirmed it was an issue and replaced the Steering Rack.

While driving the steering locked up and driver was unable to turn in either direction

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH with Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keep Assist activated, the vehicle experienced phantom braking and decelerated to 50 MPH before releasing. The contact stated that he was overtaking an 18-wheeler at the time of the failure. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure had since become a regular occurrence. 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 450.

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power, stalled, and shutoff. The vehicle was restarted. The message, "Vehicle Will Shut Down - Pull Over Safely" was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 5,100.

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while making a right turn into a parking lot, the vehicle independently accelerated without warning. The contact steered the vehicle to the right and ran over two road barriers before he crashed into a parked vehicle. The air bags deployed upon impact. The contact was temporarily trapped in the vehicle due to the driver’s side door failing to open. The door eventually unlocked as the authorities arrived at the scene. The contact was taken to the hospital via an ambulance and was treated for bruises to his left hand. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent tow yard where it remained in their possession. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to repaired. The failure mileage was 240.

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) throws false positive alerts every time. The sudden false warning notification takes the attention of the driver away from road even though there is no reason for the driver to be alerted. This is a safety hazard as driver can make unnecessary mistake due to the false warning chime. FCW throws warning chime even when there is no vehicle ahead, or there is a vehicle coming in from the opposite lane or when the vehicle ahead takes a turn etc. Tesla insurance is also monetising a faulty beta version of FCW (released to all users) by penalising driver with false warnings in real time driving analysis and thus increasing insurance premiums.

I was turning right from a residential street onto a busy street during rush hour. I heard a sound, which made me think I might have run over something. Immediately following the sound, an alert showed up on the car’s touch screen with the message: “Vehicle May not restart: Service required”. The car was immediately inoperable - the car could not move and it could not shift into neutral to be pushed off the road. The 12V battery of the car continued to function for roughly 10 minutes after the car became stuck, which I knew because I was able to exit my vehicle normally, the touch screen remained illuminated and I was able to turn my hazards on. It did eventually die and I became locked out of the car at that point. I was in the middle of a busy intersection with no hazard lighting at that point and the car could not be moved, so I called emergency services and requested a police officer for traffic redirection while I waited around an hour and a half for a tow. Regarding the initial sound that I heard, I checked under the car as well as in the street around it, and there were no signs of debris or any visible evidence of damage to the undercarriage of the vehicle. I can only assume that the sound that I heard was whatever failure that had occurred internally in the car. At the time of this incident, the car was charged to around 85% of battery, was only a few weeks old, had never been in any type of collision, or required any service. Tesla has inspected the vehicle and identified the malfunction as a failure of the front and rear drive inverter. The situation that I was in was dangerous to myself and to the other drivers on the road with me. A sudden and complete stop on a busy road or in a location without cell coverage could be life threatening. The fact that there were no warning lamps, messages or any warning symptoms of the failure is extremely concerning and puts drivers and others on the road with them at a high risk.

Power steering failed for unknown reason. Operating the vehicle without functional steering made turning through traffic dangerous. The vehicle is now at the Tesla service center for diagnosis.

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that as his wife attempted to park the vehicle in their garage, the vehicle independently accelerated without warning and crashed into a concrete wall. The air bags did not deploy upon impact. The contact stated that his wife suffered from neck pain for a week after the accident but did not seek medical treatment. A police report was filed. The garage was damaged as a result of the accident. The vehicle was towed to an independent body shop where the vehicle was deemed a total loss. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 19.

Concern: The "Autopilot" system in my 2023 Tesla Model Y AWD LR has shown diminished performance, particularly in adaptive cruise control, compared to the 2018 Model 3 RWD Long Range. Account: I aim to notify NHTSA about a concerning "Autopilot" behavior in my 2023 Model Y AWD LR. I am comparing this to the performance of my previous 2018 Model 3 RWD Long Range, driven under similar conditions. Incidents: Near Accidents: During commutes, my Model Y AWD LR frequently doesn't slow timely. In some cases, I've had to override Autopilot and brake abruptly to avoid collisions by risking letting the car either fail to brake fully or slam on the brakes so hard. The car's sudden deceleration at the last moment is concerning as it is not only a dangerous scenario for myself and my occupants, but also other drivers behind me, who might also crash. Conditions: These instances took place during daylight with a spotless vehicle, ensuring no camera obstructions. Settings: I set the distance threshold between levels 4 and 5 and ensured the speed was no more than 10 mph above the speed limit. Lane Keeping: The lane-keeping function is efficient. However, adaptive cruise control's reliability is questionable. Sensor Absence: The 2023 Model Y lacks radar and USS (ultrasonic sensors). This could be affecting the performance drop I've noticed. Accidents: Due to these issues, I've narrowly missed three accidents just this week alone, endangering my safety and others. Conclusion & Request: While Autopilot should enhance safety, my experience with the 2023 Model Y AWD LR suggests otherwise. This unexpected performance dip, especially with supposed hardware upgrades, is alarming. I urge NHTSA to investigate this issue swiftly. Given the popularity of this model, many drivers could be at risk.