Table 1 shows one common service brakes related problems of the 2020 Tesla Model Y.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Service Brakes problems |
When I went to my local garage to have a wheel rotation and wheel alignment done, they discovered that my rear driver side break hose was leaking. They also discovered that the rear passenger side break hose was showing similar wear/damage. I had the car towed to Tesla repair center because the replacement parts were backordered for the local garage. At the Tesla repair center, I asked if this was a potential build quality issue or something else, which they couldn't answer. Besides tire related items, like new tires and wheel alignment, all my other servicing was done thru Tesla. They noticed that they had done some half-shaft lubrication work that would have required them to disassemble the breaks. Of course they are not going to speculate or admit wrong doing. Therefore, in my mind, the issue was either original build quality from the factory or maybe the Tesla service mechanic not properly reassembling the breaks during one of the service visits. Just incase this was a factory build issue, I wanted to put in this incident so it can be counted towards any tally that NHTSA maybe keeping.
Tesla Model Y, loses control in snow and fish tails, making it unsafe. This has happened multiple time in winter and even in heavy rain. I follow standard recommendations for winter/snow driving, if you skid, ease off acceleration, and do not brake to avoid skidding. If we do this, the regenerative brakes kick in and brakes the car, causing the skid. Have had several narrow escapes in highways and even in regular roads. I hope Tesla will can give an option to turn of the regenerative braking for winter driving. Thanks.
While driving in cruise control mode, not auto steer, and with no vehicle in or obvious obstruction in front, the brakes will be applied without warning (phantom braking). It has happened multiple time in the years of ownership. It has happened once or twice with a vehicle following resulting in near rear-end collision. In one case this resulted in the follower reacting with "road rage," passing with horns blaring and braking in front of my vehicle. I have this recent incident on video as it just requires me to honk the horn and the last 5-10 minutes of driving is recorded.
I purchased our Tesla Model Y 3 years ago. I intentionally disabled and did not subscribe to any autonomous driving features because I don’t trust them. I disabled all aspects of auto pilot functions. Despite this, my car still will automatically swerve at random times, slam on the brakes randomly with no reason to break, etc. It is terrifying when this happens unexpectedly and infuriating that I have disabled all these features, but it still does this. This is most common when I put it in cruise control. Rarely these will happen when, for example you cross a double yellow line, but most of the time they happen when nothing has occurred to prompt them. I believe this is an unsafe feature, and needs to be investigated. Unfortunately, with Tesla they have no customer service so there’s nobody that I can report this to.
We’re getting errors for traction control, reduced traction, control, disabled automatic emergency, braking is unavailable, abs disabled. This is a manufactures defect, and Tesla is requiring us to pay.
Phantom breaking.
On the last road trip, my car emergently braked for no reason when using cruise control and autopilot causing safety issues for cars behind my vehicle. This happened at least 6 times on my 500-mile round trip. I reached out to Tesla service and was told there is no fix at this time. In my opinion this is a dangerous problem that needs addressing in an urgent manner.
Vehicle was on fsd and suddenly excessively braked almost to a stop when driving at 65mph causing occupants and cargo to fly forward and injured our pet in the rear seat.
Have had several issues with phantom braking. When in cruise control or auto drive there are times nothing is in the roadway but the vehicle will brake in middle of hwy. Very dangerous.
While driving on highway using cruise control, the vehicle (without the driver's assistance) applied brakes to quickly slow the rate of speed. This occurred three times in the span of ten minutes. The weather was sunny and no other vehicles or objects were in the vicinity of my vehicle. After the third occurrence, I stopped using cruise control for the remainder of the trip.
We were driving on a highway and suddenly we got a red steering weel image with a sharp noise and a warning message something about automatic emergency braking disable and we can't use a cruise control feature. I don't feel safe to drive. Tesla can't tell me when it will be fixed.
While on cruise control at @72mph the car has been “phantom” braking. The last time there were flurries, but the first several times there was nothing impeding the car nor were any vehicles within camera range. This is a very unsettling feeling. No, no and no. There have been reports to your site with this regard. Tyvm.
Driving 1400 miles santa fe-austin TX-santa fe, experienced phantom braking over 15 times. Generally happened while cruising on autopilot at 70-80 mph. Phantom braking occurred with no warning and for no apparent reason. The car suddenly jerked and lost 5-10 mph, and the autopilot went off.
I noticed a screeching sound from the rear of the vehicle when brakes were being applied in September 2022. I took the vehicle to a local tire/ brake store where the mechanic informed me that a brake caliper nut is missing and that brake caliper is bent. He strongly advised me against driving the vehicle any further until the nut bolt is replaced. Since they did not have Tesla brand bolt they used a similar bolt from their supply and asked me to have the original bolt replaced by Tesla. I am planning to take the vehicle to the Tesla repair center to have the vehicle inspected. The component that failed is not available for inspection as it is missing from the vehicle however the brake caliper is deformed the brake caliper can apparently cut into the wheel and place the occupants at risk as per an article by cnet available on line the issue was identified by an independent service center which is a national chain the manufacturer has not inspected the vehicle yet there was no warning about the failure other than the abnormal sound on braking.
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.
With car in cruise control on freeway, sudden and hard application of brakes by vehicle, no human input.
Phantom breaking - while utilizing cruise control (not even autonomous driving function) the car will randomly slow down/ apply breaks and decrease speed without warning. This has happened multiple times and there is no warning before hand 1) looks to be the cruise/ automatic emergency breaking malfunctioning. Yes available 2) dramatic slow down/ breaking on highways going ~70 mph with cars behind threatens to lead to an accident 3) I have seen numerous corroborating reports but have not taken my car in yet as it does not seem like a solution has been found 4) no 5) no.
Phantom braking happens frequently. On March 24, 2022, the phantom braking was out of control. It was very difficult to continue safe driving. I have a video of the screen that shows a person in front of my car. The video is a minute long and shows at least 5 such occurrences. Each time the person occurred on the screen the phantom braking happened when the fsd or cruise control was on. I received contradictory information from Tesla when I requested the service. Finally they said that the issue would be corrected in the future probably via several software updates. How can I drive safely until then??????.
Operating the vehicle at highway speed of 70 miles per hour on interstate 80 in illinois. No visible traffic going in either direction for approximately 1/2 mile in all directions when the automatic braking happened for no apparent reason. Scared my wife and myself (both 74 years old) to death. Threw us both forward. My wife now refuses to drive in this Tesla and wants me to sell it. "phantom braking" is not an acceptable phenomenon. If there was a tailgating semi behind us we would both be dead today before people die. This must be fixed!!!.
While traveling on rt 27 south in florida on a bright sunny day with no traffic around the car and on adaptive cruise control my Tesla Model Y "phantom" braked twice within a mile or two of these incidents. This has happened several times before while on full self driving mode but the first while on cruise control.
I was driving south on I-75 about 10am on January 16, 2022. Traffics was moderated as I was driving in the left lane about 60 mph following another car. It had suddenly started snowing rather hard and the road was wet as it had been for the previous 50 miles. I felt no change in the road or car handling. Another dark SUV started passing me on the left. That seemed normal until the dark car was about 3/4 of the way passed me. Suddenly my Tesla swung to the left and came in contact with the right rear panel of the SUV. I tried to correct my car but it suddenly went out of control to the left. My car suddenly was out of my control and skidded side ways with the right side of the car coming in contract with the guard rail in the center. It happened so fast I could not react as the car took out about 20-30 feet of metal guard rail. It spun around and ended in the center ditch facing the opposite direction. Air bag on the right side deployed and I was in contact with the center front seat. Car was badly damaged with the damage protion mostly the right side of the car. Police came about 30 minutes later. At first I told him I was uninjured but after about 10 minutes my right leg started hurning and I requested an ambulance with took me to the hospital in corwin ky. That leg swelled up and x-rays and mri were taken. Please talk a look at the vided on youtube under Teslacam. . . There is a video of the same thing happening to a Tesla driver on a highway in southern California. I do not know if this is related to the sudden breaking problem with Teslas. I have been driving for over 50 years and this is my first serious accient.
It's called phantom braking and it's absolutely dangerous. It happens when on auto pilot.
VIN-5yjygdee4lf059763 my wife was driving the car in this accident. I am reporting it as it happened. When: oct 29, 2021 at about 2:45 +/- 40 minutes. Where: in the parking lot of a shopping center. In quail hills shopping center in irvine, California. Summary of what happened: a) unintended and sudden acceleration. The car accelerated suddenly by itself and caused an accident when I was trying to park the car. B) two more cars were involved and were damaged. My car did not respond to brake and it hit two other cars. C) the car was inspected by repair center and was fixed. Damages were extensive. D) a warning appeared on the screen that said "automatic braking disabled. " during or after the accident. E) we reported the accident to Tesla and requested the edr/crash data report. They have not provided that. I called several times, sent emails and even went to a Tesla service center. But have no received the report yet. The best way to reach me is via my cell phone: 949-307-2626. Mahmoud narimanzadeh.
The car suddenly picked up the speed in the parking lot, went over the car stopper, curb and hit the tree. The airbags never got activated, or the sensors were nonfunctional. I received a call in less than 1 minute from Tesla roadside if I was safe. Paramedics took me to the er by 911. I had some injuries because of a malfunction of airbags, brakes, and warning systems. The car is towed to the nearby Tesla-approved repair place. I am somewhat concerned about the cause, and I believe Tesla knew what had malfunctioned in their car. I have been a safe driver without traffic tickets and accidents ever in the last 45 years.
On 5/24/21, I was driving in the rain on a busy 6 lane highway. I was driving under speed limit. The car hydroplaned across 3 lanes, past the divider and spun 180 degrees and I was able to bring it to a halt with fierce braking just before it crossed onto the other side. Some damage to car. I was unhurt. Sheriff came to assist me to safety.
I was driving east on may 7, 2021, on I-94 toward new buffalo, mi, on a clear day; no rain. A semi-truck was going 60 mph in the center lane of three lanes. I moved to the left lane to pass as I was going about 70 mph, the posted speed limit. There were no cars ahead of me in my lane for as far as I could see. Another car pulled up behind me very close—way too close—tailgating me. I was passing the truck and was parallel to the truck when suddenly the Tesla automatically slammed on my brakes!!! the idiot who was tailgating me fortunately reacted quickly and also slammed on his brakes and simultaneously swerved hard left onto the shoulder—thereby averting what could have been a fatal accident!! my car could have been pushed into the wheels of the truck on my right and we could have been killed!! I was badly shaken but, fortunately, we were not injured and there was no crash. When we arrived at our destination I phoned the salesman at the chicago Tesla sales office and described the incident. I asked him if I could disable the automatic braking feature and he talked me through the procedure. The Tesla has a rear-facing video camera. I believe Tesla should program that camera to see a tailgating car and make certain that no automatic braking be engaged if a car is following too close!! I believe Tesla should investigate why this happened and should reprogram the software yo prevent it from happening again. I sent the Tesla company two electronic messages through the Tesla phone app as the Tesla salesman suggested, but I have not received any response more than one week later. This is irresponsible!! we could have been killed yet Tesla has ignored my two messages! if Tesla does not fix this problem, it is certain that people will die in a parallel situation. We were just very lucky.
Automatic vehicle hold disabled. Regenerative braking disabled. Traction control disabled. Stability control disabled. Steering assist reduced. I was turned 360 degrees when trying to turn left. Car was sliding during drive.
The contact owned a 2020 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while pulling out of a parking space, the vehicle rolled back and crashed into a concrete wall. There was no warning light illuminated. The dealer was made aware of the failure; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. Additionally, on October 17, 2021, the contact slightly depressed the accelerator pedal and the vehicle accelerated abruptly and crashed into another vehicle. A police report was filed. The other driver in the second vehicle required medical attention. No air bags were deployed. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to world collision at the mall of georgia (4641 harrison run, buford, GA 30518), where it was repaired. In addition, on January 9, 2022, the contact was pulling into a parking space when the vehicle unintendedly accelerated from 0 to 60 mph, crashing into a brick wall. The contact stated that all the air bags were deployed. The contact and the passenger were injured and had to seek medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was totaled. No warning lights were illuminated. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but offered no assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 7,000.
The contact owns a 2020 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while driving at various speeds with the adaptive cruise control activated the vehicle would erroneously reduce speed. The failure occurred on multiple occasions. On another occasion while driving 70 mph, the vehicle abruptly decelerated to 50 mph. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 3,000.
Went to see an eye dr, try to get to a parking spot which there were a whole row of empty parking spaces. As I turned into the parking spot it suddenly accelerated over the curb, I then applied the brake but still keep going then it the wall about 8ft fr the curb straight on. I've been driving for 35 yrs and never accidentally apply to wrong pedal. I went to Tesla near by to complain right away and they insist I have applied to wrong pedal! such a irresponsible statement! I dont have to drive the car again if you can send someone to investigate if the car has some recording to view like a blackbox for an airplane. Tesla may claims they r right for other cases they have but I m very sure I never accelerate into the parking spot. I have the video recording the car driving and you can see it started accelerate as I turned into the parking spot like many people claim on the internet that they experience similar situation.
We recently purchase Tesla Model Y on 29th September 2020. We notice more than twice while driving Model Y on freeway at 65mph and the car decided to randomly slam the braked (panthom braking) while in autopilot in middle of the freeway. We were on garden state parkway in NJ. We did reported to Tesla via voice command but no we been scare driving the Tesla on cruise control or auto pilot and worried about rear end accident. Its very dangerous and safer issue. There has been no response from Tesla. While researching about panthom breaking in Tesla, I found so many Tesla car customer having same issues. It's been happening with all the Tesla cars since 2016. Seems like there has been no action taken from Tesla. We notice auto pilot will brake at same spots on the highway near shadow of light in night. This seems to be at exits and it really dangerous. I also read on the net that phantom braking is happens shadows under bridges phantom, I have no reason to suspect it has been fixed. Please take a look into this issue. Its been out there and it is very scary when driving car on auto pilot or cruise control.
October 8 2020, 5:00pm. Heavy traffic on I-5 north at anaheim, CA near harbor blvd/ball rd exit. I had just changed lanes to the right in preparation to take the exit. Due to heavy traffic, my speed was approximately 10 mph. Immediately after settling to the new lane, Toyota rav4 in front of me brakes aggressively. I was about 6 ft from this car, and immediately pressed my Tesla y brake pedal hard in an attempt to avoid collision. But, my Tesla y would not stop. The wheels did not lock into full braking. Tesla's automatic emergency braking did not engage, and its collision warning system did not alert me. As I am pressing the brake pedal hard, all I can do is to witness that we will collide. None of Tesla y's safety features engaged to save me from this collision.