2020 TESLA MODEL Y Complaints

The contact owns a 2020 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that after an update was made to the vehicle's autopilot feature, the vehicle experienced phantom braking intermittently that activated without the brake pedal being depressed. The contact stated that while his wife was driving on autopilot at 55 MPH, the phantom brake occurred which caused the vehicle to hydroplane. The vehicle initially veered to the left and then to the right, hitting a guardrail. The air bags did not deploy upon impact. The guardrail was damaged as a result of the incident. The contact's wife did not notice any warning lights during the failure. His wife did not suffer any injuries during the crash and a police report was not filed. The contact's wife managed to drive the vehicle home after the incident. The service center nor the manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.

On 9/15/2022 around 12:15pm right before exit 180 on I40 East at Bermuda Run NC 801 in North Carolina, during moderate to heavy rain, our Tesla Model Y hydroplaned and spun twice doing two full 360 spins from the left most interstate lane and ending up in the right shoulder. Fortunately we made no contact with anyone and nothing was damaged and no one was hurt. We believe the car started to hydroplane causing me to let go the accelerator. This caused the Tesla Regenerative braking to kick in and made matters worse and caused the car to spin. Popular wisdom seems to be to tun off or reduce regenerative braking during rain or slippery conditions. We did not know this. Tesla should do this automatically or provide an option to do this. We think many people may not know this and this could get them to have a similar incident with more tragic results. We were lucky but many others may not have been.

When using the "Tesla Autopilot" feature phantom braking has been more frequent and aggressive following the recent software upgrades. Many times, phantom braking occurs when approaching an intersection or when lane lines intersect. The phantom braking concern was minimal when I first purchased the car. Strange enough it would happen going under an overpass or an elevated crosswalk. With time and software upgrades this concern was resolved but now the phantom braking events are more pronounced and sometime so quick it is difficult to implement corrective action and prevent possible rear end collisions, especially in highway traffic conditions.

While driving from Boston to Raleigh NC, I experienced several instances of the issue known as "Phantom Braking". While driving with the systems Autopilot driver assistance system engaged the car without warning, and without any visible reason (nothing in front of the car that should have caused such a response), did engage the brakes of the car excessively. In each of the situations the car was mostly alone on the he interstate, was driving in clear conditions, and was in daylight. This occurred more then three times oaths trip down and back up to RaleighNC from Boston MA.

The GPS is malfunctioning- showing the car in a random location, direction and speed. All automation needs to be disabled. The car will attempt to make a non-existent turn based on where it thinks it is, or will speed up or will suddenly decelerate because it thinks it is coming up to a cross street or traffic control.

The contact owns a 2020 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while driving approximately 3 MPH and in reverse gear, the rearview camera display began to drop frames and was not displaying live action. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had a manufacturer technician go to his work location who diagnosed on a laptop and stated that there were no issues with the vehicle. The vehicle had not been repaired and the contact stated that the failure was ongoing. The contact stated that he did have a backup crash due to a camera failure. The contact's rear bumper crashed into the front bumper of another vehicle. The damage was minimal, only scuff marks on the contact vehicle and the other vehicle. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 25,000.

Rear passenger side door was not able to be opened. Tesla service came out and fixed it. A door panel came loose and got wedged on the body seal. He was able to pry the door open and resecure the body seal. He said it happens frequently on this model car. It is a safety issue as if there was an accident (or other reason) someone needed to quickly get out of the car and that was the exit door they would be trapped. It is possible to kick the door open, but hard in a Tesla Model Y rear seat/door as there is no manual door handle, just an electronic button. It would be very hard for a young or old person to press that button and kick at door, making it impossible for them to escape. Tesla needs to redesign the door panel and add a manual door handle like the front doors have.

A recent software change removed the automatic activation of headlights with wipers. Headlights on with wipers is the law in most states and a common sense practice. However, with the removal of the automatic activation, you are forced to tap into several sub menus on the touchscreen in order to manually activate the head lights, all while driving in less than ideal conditions.

Total failure of HVAC system which could put driver in danger in extreme temperatures.

HVAC "dog mode" failed for the second time after repair. Manufacturer says this is a known issue but no alert sent to owners. Screen indicates rising temp, notification sent to phone of failure. No known timetable for fix but no alerts to owners