2021 TESLA MODEL Y Complaints

Sudden braking while passing semi-trucks on a 2-lane highway while using Autopilot and Traffic-Aware Cruise Control. I made a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW-nrsR1Bg0

The Tesla adaptive cruise control has been malfunctioning for the past 12,000+ miles (since new). Yes, it is available for inspection upon request. When the cruise is set, there are a significant number of phantom breaking events, making it a real hazard for anyone following our vehicle. The breaking can happen as often as 3 times every minute, and can decelerate 10-15 mph within seconds before I am able to react and override the cruise. The vehicle has been inspected 2 times by the manufacturer and has been found to have no hardware failure. There is no warning prior to the phantom breaking. However, periodically there are warnings during the phantom breaking events in the form of alarms sounding.

I was traveling in -5 degree (Fahrenheit) weather and the cabin heater stopped working (a notice appeared on the screen explaining that it was malfunctioning). Windshield began to fog up, so turned on fan and outside air in order to remove the fog. Ended up driving 8 hours in -5 degree weather with outside air coming in the car. Seat heaters and steering wheel heater continued to work. My passengers and I had to wear coats, boots, gloves, and a hat and still got numb hands and feet. I felt this was a dangerous situation, unable to keep warm while driving or when pulled over. Manufacturer looked at the issue and said the refrigerant was slightly low and replenished it. I don't feel confident that this was an actual fix.

This car has had numerous phantom braking incidents. It is unusable on 2 lane roads. It breaks suddenly for trucks in the opposite lane. It can also begin to brake for cars in the opposing lane. The only remedy is to press on the accelerator to turn off the Autopilot. It also slows down periodically for shadows (for example when going thru an underpass). It was reported to Tesla service and evidently nothing can be done since it seems to be a software issue. I am unsure of that since this car no longer has the radar that previous versions of this car did have.

-Tesla autopilot phantom emergency braking, multiple times makes using the autopilot useless, can't even set it to just cruise control. Yes. -Hard, unexpected, emergency braking at highway speeds from 75mph to immediate 35mph. Dangerous to passengers and other motorists due to the sudden, unexpected high deceleration speed. -Yes. Reported the problem to Tesla service center Spokane on 11/15/2021. They performed a remote investigation and told me I had used the car in a manner/location that was outside the current limitations of the software. No further action until the software system is updated sometime in the future and remotely closed the service appointment without any further input from me. - No. Phantom braking started the day I picked it up 9/24/2021 and continues to this day.

The vehicle driver assist system frequently has phantom braking in situations it should not be, especially when there are vehicles behind putting us at risk for a collision due to unexpected braking behavior of the car. This happens especially in setting of 2 lane roads with oncoming traffic, and guaranteed with a truck in the vicinity. On major highways it is less so, but does still happen occasionally. On local roads even if straight and no obstruction the automatic braking without notice occurs when least expecting. Also the lane departure system disables automatically for the remainder of a drive if you veer off a lane even once and didn't take the corrective action the vehicle thinks should have happened. That's not how a safety feature should work... It should remain on regardless. As much as I do enjoy this car, these quality issues definitely make you second guess and keep a closer eye on how you drive to avoid accidents if the system decides to not work as advertised

I’m experiencing “Phantom Braking” in my Tesla Model Y. I live in a rural area where 2 lane roads (1 lane each direction) are the only roads around. Larger pick up trucks, pickups with trailers, busses, semi trucks, dump trucks, sprinter vans, and other vehicles of that size in the opposite lane trigger my vehicle, when in cruise control, to slam on its brakes. This happens when it’s sunny, cloudy, any type of weather condition. Occasionally, when in cruise control, I notice the car makes slight braking attempts, even when there is no traffic in the other lane. It’s as if it’s sensing a ghost it doesn’t want to hit… This has happened ever since we purchased the vehicle. I do not use auto pilot because I do not see the point where I live. This issue happens when using the adaptive cruise control. I have not noticed it when using auto pilot as, mention before, I rarely use that feature. I recently say articles where many other Tesla owners were having this problem so I thought I would add to the awareness of this issue. My wife does not use cruise control nor auto pilot for fear the car will slam on it’s brakes and someone might rear end us. Speed limits range from 35-55mph in my area.

I have experienced several instances of the phantom braking in my Tesla model Y. it primarily happens when I’m on a two-lane road and there is a large truck approaching on the opposite lane. However it will also phantom brake on a highway where there are two lanes going in one direction separated by a median with two lanes going the opposite direction. It seems to happen when it’s coming up on a slight hill, where you cannot see over the hill. The car will slam on the brakes in the middle of the freeway, which when going at speeds of 65 to 75 miles an hour when traveling with other vehicles going the same speed, it can be especially dangerous in Texas where the giant pick up trucks like to tailgate electric vehicles. In one instance the pick up truck behind me thought I was brake checking him and jamming on my brakes to be a jerk; he then “coal rolled” me, putting out a giant cloud of black smoke. This situation has made it so I am afraid to use traffic aware cruise control, which I need to be able to use on road trips. It is especially bad in the two-lane winding roads around Amarillo, Texas, but I’ve also had it do this on a much larger road that goes through Chandler, New Mexico to Colorado. I absolutely love my Tesla, but the phantom braking is concerning, and the response I’ve gotten from Tesla service is that the car adapts and will eventually learn where not to do it. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but it doesn’t seem to be getting better, and it does it at the same locations on the road. I need cruise control to be working. Another suggestion might be to have the ability to turn off traffic aware cruise control. I paid for full self driving but have not had the courage to apply to use it because of phantom braking. I would also like to see federal laws passed to address coal rolling of electric vehicles. It is extremely dangerous and it’s happening a lot in Texas.

On 2 occasions within the last month my Tesla Y experienced a radical but brief stopping response. This happened on a freeway while passing a large truck in an adjacent lane. The car suddenly slowed down and then immediately speeded back up. This happened a second time on a freeway but I am unsure of the specific circumstances. I got delivery of the car in Oct 2021 and both of these incidents happened in Jan 2022. It has only happened those 2 times. Thank You [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

My Tesla Model Y seems to be suffering from what is called "phantom braking". My vehicle was produced shortly after the radar was removed and Tesla went to a camera only system. My car has the lasted updates installed. It is not a Full Self Driving vehicle. Since I purchased the vehicle it has had a problem during low light or sunny conditions with suddenly braking when using the cruise control. The situation has been reported to Tesla multiple times and "bug reports" were recorded and reported to the service center. During one morning drive of about 35 minutes I reported 8 occurrences. Sometimes the vehicle will sound the emergency avoidance braking. The car will suddenly slow from 60 to 30 mph. On multiple occasions the vehicle behind me had to take evasive action to avoid rear ending me. During one of my service visits the vehicle was taken on an extended over night test drive and the technician confirmed the problem. During the other visit the service center did not even take the vehicle for a drive. in both cases Tesla said the hardware was functioning normally and this was a "normal" operating condition for the vehicle. The car does better if I am following another vehicle because it seems to be able to maintain it's depth perception better if it has that reference point. I did report to the service center that the car seems to follow closer at night, even at the max following distance setting. The vehicle also struggles with the automatic high beam headlights which the computer turns on automatically if cruise control is activated. Very often the car is slow to turn the high beams off but in other cases it will turn the high beams off and then turn them back on as another car approaches. I am flashed by other drivers on a daily basis because of this. Tesla does not seem concerned with resolving these known issues. I hope NHTSA involvement can get their attention for these safety related items.