2021 TESLA MODEL Y Complaints

Our Tesla started last month braking suddenly and hard when cruise control was enabled. This is happening at night when cars are passing us going in the opposite direction. At no point did the braking occur due to cars actually being in our lane or potential accident. These braking errors happen when normal driving conditions under or at the speed limit with clear visibility.

I have had issues since i purchased this vehicle in march of 2021 where driving down the highway with Adaptive Cruise Control enabled and it will suddenly slam on the brakes at highway speeds with no other vehicles around. This sudden braking is so severe at times that everyone in the car is thrown forward and bracing for a false impact. This has caused several close calls for vehicles following me. Also the severity of the braking in winter weather causes the vehicle to lose traction and potentially place all the occupants and others on the road at risk. During my time in the FSD Beta program i was able to report all of these events, sometimes dozens of times a day. Eventually I asked to be removed from the program as it seemed worse in the program than when on a standard build version of the software.

The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while driving at highway speeds with the cruise control activated, the vehicle had erroneously applied the brakes causing the vehicle to reduce the speed. The failure had occurred on multiple occasions. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 10,000.

My Tesla Y suddenly decelerates while in cruise control at the same location on a highway. It occurs when I am passing an exit ramp, but not exiting. The car reads the exit ramp speed of 45 and suddenly decelerates from. 65 to 45. It never reads exit ramp speed when I am not using cruise control and am exiting.

Phantom braking at all speeds both on city streets and on highways. On the highway 138 between Palmdale and Victorville California I was unable to use cruise control because the car would continually brake. I was the only car on the road at the time.

When the traffic aware of cruise control or auto pilot is engaged, particularly on two-lane roads with opposing traffic, phantom breaking occurs with about 90% of the approaching semi tractor trailers, and perhaps 25% of the approaching automobiles.

While driving on C-470 in Colorado, eastbound approaching the Quebec St. exit, I was in the right lane. A car was exiting the highway while I continued straight. I was 2 sec behind this car and the car was in the exit lane, while I continued on the right lane. However, the highway curves to the left here. A straight forward view shows this car mostly in front of me. The Model Y braked excessively, from 65 to 45-50 before I could press the accelerator to continue forward. I would be worried of a rear end collision if there were a car behind me.

I've been having problems with phantom braking, primarily on highways. This problem has gotten much worse in the last month or two. The car will unexpectedly brake while either autosteer or adaptive cruise control are engaged while driving on the freeway, and typically (although not exclusively) when my speed is approx. 70-80 MPH (where speed limit is 75-80 MPH). This will happen approx. once every half hour, although it is sporadic and often happens in spurts. Until about 1 month ago this would happen only while autosteer was engaged. However, during the last month or so ago this has also been happening while adaptive cruise control is engaged (without autosteer engaged). It happens most often when I am in the left lane passing a semi-truck which is in the right lane, although it happens other times as well. Always without any warning. It has happened a total of probably 20-30 times in the last 2 months (approx. 5,000 miles). Sometimes it manifests as a gentle, almost tentative tap on the brakes, whereas other times it is a fairly jarring with sudden hard braking. It has not caused any accidents or incidents, but I am concerned about it happening when a car may be behind me. Because of that, I will often disengage cruise control or autosteer if other cars are close behind me. My car software is equipped with Full Self Driving, but the FSD (beta) has not been downloaded.

When driving with cruise control on I experience issues with sudden braking. Sometimes it seems like it may be an error due to on coming traffic (particularly trucks), but sometimes it’s due to blind curves or small humps (such as an interstate bridge/overpass) where the pavement is a different shade. Typically I’ll be at cruising speed 60-75mph and braking will be sudden and aggressive, to about 45mph. This has happened numerous times since purchase in June 2021.

The cruise control on my Model Y frequently slams on the brakes for no apparent reason (no obstacle or vehicle in my lane). This happens at all speeds (from 30mph to 75mph). The cruise control is so unsafe and scary that I will not use it at all with other passengers in my car or when I have a car following me. My car slams on the brakes so hard it makes it completely unsafe for me and the people following me. In my opinion, it drastically increases the chances of being involved in a rear-end collision. There is no ability in the Model Y to use cruise control that is not adaptive-based. Until this problem is fixed, Tesla needs to offer a cruise control option that is 100% controlled by the driver (standard cruise) where the speed and brakes cannot be changed by the car. My car has not been inspected by the manufacturer and this has not been reported to the manufacturer because it is a widespread and known problem, and Tesla is not currently doing anything to help others who have reported the issue.