2023 TESLA MODEL Y Complaints

On the evening of April 8th 2026, my wife was driving our 2023 Tesla Model Y home in San Francisco, CA when she noticed unusual noise coming from the front left wheel area. The vehicle was otherwise functioning normally aside from the noise. The following morning, I inspected the vehicle and found a large hex bolt (Class 10.9 grade) on the ground directly beneath the car. The front left wheel was binding and the vehicle was completely undrivable — the wheel felt stuck and made grinding/scraping noises when attempting to move. Based on the bolt size, grade, and location, this appears to be a front suspension lateral link fastener that detached from the subframe. This is the same defect described in NHTSA recalls 21V-835, 22V-895, and 23V-235, involving under-torqued or improperly secured front suspension fasteners on Tesla Model Y vehicles. The vehicle had 28,482 miles at the time of the incident. There was no prior collision, impact, or road hazard event. No warning or alert appeared on the Tesla touchscreen at any point. The vehicle displayed no diagnostic message despite having a compromised suspension component.

I believed Tesla full self driving (FSD) was in effect. My Tesla proceeded at 35 miles an hour toward a stop sign and I had to manually stop the vehicle to prevent blowing the sign. It turns out that Tesla sent an email 2 days ago (April 7 2026) that notified me that FSD had been cancelled because my credit card was declined (I had to replace a card on April 7 due to a lost card). I did not see this email. There was no notification in the vehicle that FSD had been deactivated. When I thought I was engaging FSD, I was in fact engaging an autosteer mode with much lesser capabilities, essentially only acting like adaptive cruise control and lane guidance. Engaging this lesser mode is done in EXACTLY the same fashion as FSD, and any driver using it in my situation would always assume FSD was active. This problem, if not corrected will absolutely cause accidents and potentially fatalities. Tesla needs to inform the driver via the head unit that FSD is not active in an obvious, unmistakeable way.

While performing a low-speed reverse turn into a driveway, a loud clunk was heard and the driver side front wheel completely separated from alignment. The vehicle became immediately undrivable. Upon inspection, the ball joint retaining nut was found to be absent from the front driver side suspension assembly. No torque verification mark was present on the fastener. The vehicle is currently at an authorized Tesla service center for repair and is available for inspection. Safety risk: Complete loss of wheel alignment and directional control. Failure occurred at low speed in a private driveway. Had this occurred at highway speed the consequences could have been catastrophic. Confirmed by dealer: An authorized Tesla service advisor confirmed that a Technical Service Bulletin exists in Tesla’s system for this exact condition. No owner notification was issued prior to failure. The advisor confirmed the retaining nut is installed by an automated robot assembly process with no human torque verification step and no verification mark applied. Prior warning symptoms: NONE. No warning lamps, no messages, no audible symptoms prior to catastrophic failure. The absence of a retaining nut on a safety-critical suspension fastener with no quality verification process represents a systemic assembly defect potentially affecting all vehicles produced under the same assembly process.

The bolts attaching the front passenger wheel's lower lateral link to the body fell out. Luckily this occurred while pulling into a parking lot. Once both bolts had fallen out the vehicle was not steerable. There have been many instances of this reported online, but usually they occur with far fewer miles and I was not experiencing the symptoms. The day prior there was an alert stating that an alignment was needed but it was still okay to drive. I could tell there was a slight alignment issue while driving. The vehicle was towed to a Tesla Service Center and is currently being repaired.

Vehicle: 2023 Tesla Model Y Long Range Complaint: I am reporting a serious safety issue involving a vehicle sold by Tim Dahle Nissan Murray in Murray, Utah. Approximately three weeks ago, I purchased a 2023 Tesla Model Y Long Range from this dealership. After purchase, I discovered that the rear seat belts were not functioning. I have evidence indicating that the dealership was aware of this defect prior to the sale. This is a critical safety issue, as seat belts are required safety equipment under federal motor vehicle safety standards. The vehicle should not have been sold in this condition. Additionally, the vehicle had an issue with the right rear wheel/tire losing air. When I returned to the dealership, they failed to properly inspect or repair the issue. Instead, they reduced the air pressure in the other tires to match the leaking tire, rather than addressing the defect. After leaving the dealership, the tire again lost air. Upon inspection by another service provider, the wheel rim was found to be bent. When the tire was inflated to proper pressure, it began leaking air immediately. This created an unsafe driving condition, as the vehicle could not maintain proper tire pressure. I was forced to have the vehicle repaired by Tesla at my own expense ($1,390). The combination of non-functioning seat belts and an unsafe wheel condition placed my family, including my newborn child, at significant risk. I am requesting that this matter be investigated as the dealership knowingly sold a vehicle with defective safety equipment and failed to properly address additional safety-related issues. Also a police report was filed but I do not know how to get ahold of that it was filed with the Murray police department

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving from a complete stop, the vehicle made an abnormal clicking sound. The vehicle was taken to a Tesla Service Center, where it was diagnosed and determined that the driver's side upper control arm had failed and needed to be replaced. The contact was informed that the repair was not covered. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 52,000.

I was parking my vehicle in my driveway, turning left to park in front of my garage and heard a loud pop. I got out, looked underneath the car and didnt see anything unusual. I later investigated by moving the vehicle and noticed my steering wheel was turning without any driver input, and heard the tires scrubbing more than normal. I got out of the vehicle and noticed my tires were not aligned, having one tire pointing to the left, and the other tire pointing straight. Then I noticed a large bolt on the ground. I called Tesla and they told me my car was 2000 miles out of warranty and would have to pay for towing and the repair. I feel the steering should still be covered under warranty.

Nuna Exec Next car seat. I have the older version of this car seat for my older child and it works great. The new version ("Next") has an issue where the tigthening/loosening strap folds over and gets stuck, thus making it impossible to loosen the straps and remove the baby from the seat which is very dangerous for the child, especially in case of an emergency. This is not the way the item should work. I contacted the company, they sent me a full replacement. The replacement seat acts the same way, they are willing to send me another shell replacement. This is clearly a production/design issue - not a one-off seat issue.

My 2023 Tesla Model Y suddenly became inaccessible via key card and phone key with no prior warning. The tow operator successfully jump-started the vehicle with a 12V jump and it powered on — suggesting a 12V battery failure, not an HV system failure. Tesla diagnosed water ingress in the HV battery pack and HV harness, citing an isolation resistance fault and open flood port. Their conclusion escalated from "water ingress" to "vehicle submerged," with an $11,000 battery replacement recommended and warranty denied. I am disputing this. The vehicle has never been submerged or exposed to flooding. The only physical evidence provided was clean water droplets on a single HV connector — no waterline staining, no sediment, no debris, no pin corrosion. No ingress pathway (seal, gasket, or breach point) was identified. The flood port mechanism was not explained and may activate from pressure changes or seal failure — not exclusively submersion. The vehicle powering on after a 12V jump is inconsistent with catastrophic HV failure from submersion. I believe this may represent a manufacturing defect in the HV battery pack sealing system allowing moisture intrusion under normal conditions. Tesla has classified this as owner-caused damage without sufficient physical evidence. If similar cases exist across 2023 Model Y vehicles, a systemic defect may be present. Safety risk: sudden, complete vehicle shutdown with no warning — potential loss of propulsion while driving. Vehicle is currently at Tesla Service, undisassembled, and available for inspection.

While driving under normal conditions, without any prior impact, collision, or road hazard, the control arm on my vehicle suddenly detached. This occurred during active driving and caused an immediate loss of vehicle stability and control. The failure happened without warning and posed a serious safety risk. At the time of the incident, my children were in the vehicle, which significantly increased the danger. The vehicle had not been involved in any accident or misuse. This appears to be a potential manufacturing or assembly defect involving a critical suspension component. Tesla towed the vehicle and repaired it at no cost. However, a suspension/control arm failure during normal driving is a serious safety concern that could lead to loss of steering control and possible crash. I am reporting this incident for safety investigation purposes, as this type of failure may pose a broader risk to other drivers.