Wiper problems of the 2021 Tesla Model Y - part 1

The windshield will fog up often due to moisture, which is made worse by activating the mechanism the Tesla Model Y has for defogging, and rolling the windows down does little. This put my safety at risk when my visibility was compromised by this while driving on the highway, when I had to navigate and pull into the breakdown lane using Teslas cameras. There were no warning lights, and this vehicle part has not yet been inspected. Since this issue has happened on residential streets to me before, I was able to avoid a crash, but I had little to no visibility, and it’s only a matter of time until this does result in a crash.

The heat pump stopped working twice, which requires a trip to the service center and the repair to restore function is a minimum of $3,000. The vehical has no heat at all, no defrost, no cabin heat nothing! this defect happens in the coldest parts of winter and leaves the owner stranded wherever this occurs. The first time was at 52,000 miles. It wouldn't turn on. The heat pump seized. The second time was on a trip, it blow out all the freon and stopped working in waterloo, iowa. I was 4 hours from home and it was -4f outside. The car had 136,000 miles. Many others have had heat pumps go out in the same situation. . . Dead of winter. The repair is $3,000 to get heat back into the car. The heat pumpscare clearly defective or not big enough and are destroying themselves every other winter in minnesota. This is 1. Dangerous because you can't defrost your windshield. 2. You cold freeze to death in very cold conditions. 3. A very expensive repair pn a part that should last mire than a 1 or 2 years. Home heat pumpsvlast 10- 24 years!!.

In 2024 Tesla sent an over-the-air software update to my 2021 Model Y that gave us a month of free "full self driving. " we did not ask for this. At the end of the 30 days, our cameras and gps system failed. The service center said they had never seen this before despite many reports online posted by other Teslas owners. Tesla service said it was not fixable and recommended replacing computer at a cost to me of $2500. Now Tesla has posted a safety recall for this exact problem. They admit it was their fault and the recall states Tesla will replace the computer at no cost to the customer. However, they are only willing to fix the 2023-2025 models (those years are still under warranty). I feel that Tesla should fix all the Model Years that were affected. Tesla has again declined to fix my car. This is the recall website: [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The automated wipers will stop working when it is raining making it very difficult to see the road and traffic, and they will start working when the windshield is dry. The speed that the wipers work at is also inconsistent - speeding up and slowing down even though the rate of precipitation has not changed. This happens randomly, and after learning that other Tesla y owners have also had this happen to them, I suspect that this is a common issue in the Tesla y’s wiper system / software. This has been ongoing since we bought our car in Nov 2021.

I often experience significant lag for rearview camera and the turn signal indicator lights. Sometimes it takes up to 10 seconds for the rearview camera view to come up. It's dangerous because it's hard to tell if the car is in reverse or not. Sometimes it takes multiple attempts to change gear. I have similar experience with the turn signal indicators. It takes multiple attempts for the signals to come up, or there is often significant delay on when I turn on the signal and when the lights actually come on.

As the window starts to fog up, I turn on the defrost. The defrost does not come on for 2 to 3 minutes. However, there is some air that comes out that causes the window to fog up more. It reduces the visibility and I have to pull over because I can’t see. This happens every time I turn on the defroster. There is some delay of 2 to 3 minutes before the hot air actually blows out. I went to Tesla to see if this is a recall and they said my car did not qualify but it seems there are other test ones that have the same problem. It is dangerous when I am driving and the car windows if I turn the defroster on, it’ll cause me to lose complete visibility within seconds, and then it takes 2 to 3 minutes for the hot air to kick out.

Windshield developed a huge crack due to using max defrost in 15 degrees fahrenheit weather. There was no crack whatsoever the night before and in the morning after setting the max defrost setting on, I noticed a huge crack across my windshield! I took it to their shop in lyndhurst, OH and they told me that there was signs of previous damage, and the action of using max defrost in this weather caused it to crack the way it did. So they tried charging me $1500! I looked with them and it was barely a nick! like it almost looked like the initial point of damage as nothing but a smudge on the glass that you couldn't wipe off. . . The fact that my glass is so sensitive that the heat from operating the system normally would cause it to crack in such a way baffles me. . . Thank you for your time.

The automatic windshield wiper function never works properly. It does not engage even when the windshield is soaked, and often engages when windshield is dry. This reduces visibility so much, that it is sometimes extremely dangerous.

When driving at highway speeds (55 mph and above), the driver's side rearview mirror vibrates, making it difficult to see and identify back automobiles. This is a safety hazard when exiting the highway or merging the lines when the outside weather is raining/dark/snowing.

There are two concerns-first the phantom breaking using cruise control and the other is poor functionality of using the windshield wipers. I have experienced the phantom braking since shortly after ownership to as recent as 2 weeks ago. This has caused me to no longer use the cruise control. It is very difficult to engaged the windshield wipers. During nighttime driving and sudden heavy rain I could not locate how to turn the wipers on so I used the voice command button to do so. Thus had verying results it may not work at all, maybtake obe swipe or make continue to have wipers work until returning home. Thank you for your time.

The windshield wipers are difficult to engage. Doing so while driving requires me to take my eyes off the road.

The vehicle heating/defrost system is not functioning in cold weather. It only functions in my heated garage. In cold weather it cannot defrost causing visibility issues, driver distraction (trying to get the heat/defrost to work while driving) and a reduction in blood flow to the extremities. The heating system blows freezing cold air into the cabin when on. I have written a lemon law letter to Tesla, demanding the vehicle be replaced under alaska law, and they have not done so after 80+ days. The vehicle’s supermanifold was damaged the day we took delivery. Tesla has not honored alaska law and I’ll be filing paperwork with the state’s attorney general’s office. Tesla should not be allowed to operate in the state of alaska due to committing an unfair trade act in the state of alaska and endangering the lives of their customers.

Regarding a Tesla y, 2021with 10,000 miles; durging a recent cold spell, winter driving conditions, the a/c compressor/heat pump failed causing the windshield defrost to cease functioning, causing the visiblity to become poor to none at all, requiring that the vehicle not be driven on the roads until the weather cleared and even then, the driver or pasenger (if avalailbe) has to wipe down the wet windshield from inside to acceptable visibility standards. We did not get in an accident as we quickly abandoned the Tesla Model Y and obtained a ride from another vehicle that had a working windshield defroster. We understand that this has been a problem in canada and is the subject of a canadian recall. We contacted Tesla, sent them the computer code "vc front-a447 cabin climate control issues-requires service" and were advised that they were familiar with this problem and scheduled a repair which included the removal and replacement of the a/c compressor/heat pump and the 'supermanifold' at a cost of $1,993. 55. We were advised that no 'recall' was associated with this pariticular VIN and nor was there any warranty but this would be a 'customer pay' repair. After exhausting all efforts at writing and calling in an attempt to have a clear defect leading to a safety violation addressed voluntarily by the manufacturer we feel we are left with no alternative but to ask the goverment to look into this issue for the safety of others who may drive a Tesla with a heat pump in cold weather and very dependant on the proper operation of a windshield defroster (which the heat pump does) for safe visiblity, crucial to proper operations of a motor vehicle, on the public highways. Thanks in advance for looking into this.

At night the wipers run when cruise control is engaged even though the windshield is clean and there is no precipitation. This situation also occurs when autopilot is engaged. I've complained to Tesla's service center about this issue. I have text documentation to attach as evidence. A web search indicates there are many Tesla owners complaining about these issues for years. I've owned the car for 16 months and only in the last 2 months has this problem started. My daughter has the same car and does not have this problem. Years of complaints by other owners indicates this is a major problem why hasn't the NHTSA pressured Tesla motors to address and repair these issues?.

Tesla’s automatic wipers does not always work and it’s a serious safety concerns. I have videos of the automatic wipers not working during a light and heavy rain and it hindered visibilities on the road. Sometimes I traveled for 2 mins without the wiper sweeping water from the windshield. Due to Tesla’s bully tactics, and retributions, please do not share my name or phone number with Tesla, thank you.

Cameras did not work with turn signals. Wipers stopped working. Then the screen went blank. I don’t know if the hazard lights worked initially when pressed. This occurred in a rainstorm going over 60mph. We almost were in a wreck due to not being able to see and needing to exit highway immediately. Stopped car. Rebooted. Difficultly opening charging dock 15 minutes later. Have called Tesla in columbus, ohio and left message.

The Tesla’s operating system on the center screen froze. I was unable to view speed. I was also unable to turn on wipers, blinkers, or switch headlight beam setting. The operating system had to be rebooted while driving. This has happened twice. The first time was 2/11/2022, on i40 w in TN. The second time, noted below, was on i65 s in al.

Wipers have frozen down in place. Car is garaged and the buildup was from the road and not parked accumulation. New car <7k miles. Phantom breaking on the autopilot system where it will slam on the breaks always at some points on a commute and when driving in some conditions such as oncoming opposite side of road traffic at night with headlights on. The car will momentarily and to an extreme degree sometimes slam on the breaks.

The defroster system is not able to keep the windshield clear of ice buildup when driving even in light snow. This is because this is an electric vehicle, so there is no engine heat from underneath the hood to radiate towards the wipers. Between wiper cycles, the wipers rest below the area of the windshield that is heated by the defroster. During snowfall ice builds up on the wipers from their resting position between cycles and that ice then propagates to the rest of the windshield as the wipers move. This is an extremely dangerous situation. I heard Tesla is installing a heater beneath the resting area of the wipers on the 2022 Model Year of this vehicle. However, NHTSA should issue a recall and require this heating plate be retrofit onto earlier Model Years. The country of canada is aware of this issue as well and currently investigating it.

The heat pump that supplies all heated air to the cabin stopped working completely. Safety was impacted because my windshield fogged up, making it impossible to see clearly out of my windshield or other windows. It was 11°f outside with no heating. I am not sure if a service center has been able to reproduce the issue, but I have images of the fogging and the error message. Nobody has inspected the issue yet. I received an error message "vcfront_a447" and "cabin climate control system requires service" I have received this error message in two separate occasions now, both when it was lower than 15°f outside.

The heater of the vehicle just stop working, due to mn cold weather and since there is no heat and just cold air blowing. It freezes the windshield and frost would build up with out any way to melt it since there’s no heat. It also fogs up the interior in the car since you can’t open the windows due mn minus windchill weathers. It’s hard to see and keep warm in a cold climate state. Tesla doesn’t see this is an emergency and it’s very concerning.

Heat stops working when it gets to cold. Windows can fog up and make visibility almost impossible. Unsafe as well for passengers in freezing temps. No news or update from Tesla.

The new user-interface design removed the defroster icon from the home screen. The driver now has to swipe up on climate controls then select the defroster. This is significantly unsafe, especially when you are having difficulty seeing due to unexpected fog. Recommend they add the defroster icon to the home screen.

With Tesla’s new software version 11. 0 (firmware 2021. 44. 25. 2), the enabling of the front and rear window defogger is not readily accessible (they are buried in a menu). In the previous version of the software, there was a dedicated button on the screen to enable each of them. This is a safety issue because of the following scenario that happened to me today, comparing to my experience just the day before: I was driving in the mountains of colorado, where it was below freezing and snowing. On the 22nd of December, before the software update, my front window started fogging up very quickly. I was able to turn on the front and back window defoggers with one tap. Today, I was driving back and the same thing happened — the window started fogging up. With the new software you had to tap twice, taking away your attention from the road in order to locate the defrost on button. This is incredibly dangerous. I opted to move to the side and put my flashers on while I did that.

The software was updated and I am no longer able to access control for the window defoggers or windshield wipers with one button press. This creates a hazardous driving situation when I need to focus on driving the car. Additionally, the seat will automatically adjust itself to other driver profiles and I am unable to quickly control it, once again creating potentially dangerous conditions.

Tesla recently overhauled the firmware to their vehicles, however the newest update removes much of the ease and functionality. They have removed defogger buttons into the background, and other settings as well, causing the user to have to use multiple touches to work something that previously was quick. I believe this to be a safety issue. Drivers are now unaware where certain settings are and causes drivers to become distracted from the road to a degree that is unsafe while driving.

Unknown.

In September 2021 I was driving my Tesla Model Y on I-84 in connecticut at around 8:30pm, when all of a sudden I felt like I was about to faint, started experiencing dizziness and felt like everything was spinning around me. Luckily I was able to pull over safely. I called for an ambulance, everything checked out fine. After that I went to an er, everything checked out fine again. I thought I was having a heart attack or a stroke, but all the tests came back negative. Initially I thought maybe it's because the Tesla drives, that it accelerates so fast that I wasn't used to the speed. Weeks later I started to see various specialists, ent, allergist, ophthalmologist, optometrist, neurologist, they all checked me out and said nothing was wrong with me. I had two mris and and mra done on my brain and neck, nothing wrong with me. After that I started thinking if there might be something wrong with the Model Y, so I googled to see if other Tesla owners experienced the same thing. Then I found that some Teslas (model x and y) are known to have distortions and in some cases can cause headache or even vertigo for people. I then looked through my Model Y's windshield, then I noticed several areas of distortion. This led me to believe that my near-fainting was caused by the distortions in the windshield. I have other cars and I have driven highways at high speeds and I have never experienced any kind of dizziness or fainting. I took my model to Tesla service center, they agreed and admit they do see the same distortions I saw, but they claim the distortions are within manufacturing specifications. I requested for the windshield to be replaced, ended up paying over $1k myself. My situation has improved slightly, but I still notice distortions in the new windshield. My belief is Tesla windshields have defects, they can cause people to have headaches and therefore could be a safety concern for everyone on the road.

My car's rear windshield got shattered on its own. It was parked outside more than 16 hours and its windshield broke on its own when no-one was inside the vehicle. When it shattered, we were near car only. This would have been disastrous if someone was sitting in the 3rd seat row, it could have fallen on them or would have impacted driving due to shattering noise. Vehicle inspection is still not completed by manufacturer. There was no other damage to windshield or no stone or any object was hit it. There were other people also around and they saw it got shattered on its own. I would be able to provide videos and photographs of the damage.

Wiper failure when set to automatic (rain-sensing) when vision system shut down due to poor visibility. A little background: I've been driving for 50+ years, about 1. 5m total miles, most of it commuting. I'm a software engineer with 45+ years of experience, mostly in embedded systems. Problem drive: most settings, including headlights and wipers, on auto. Autopilot was on. Drove into a heavy rainstorm, auto wipers worked well, speeding up until they were on high. Traffic speed dropped from 70+ to less than 35 due to rain. Drove into a band of torrential rain. Saw a pop-up on the screen that said something like autopilot turning off due to diminished visibility. Autopilot (speed control) then turned off. Then the wipers shut off. Let's see, guy designing vision system: can't figure out anything from camera images, so let's warn user and shut off stuff that relies on the camera. Like autopilot. Wipers? leave them in the last state? nah, turn off the enable signal to the auto wiper state, too. Torrential downpour, almost no visibility, and my wipers just shut off. I frantically kept pressing the wiper button on the turn signal stalk to force a couple of swipes and force the wiper pop-up menu, then take my eyes off the road with possibly someone stopping right in front of me (yes, I slowed down) to do hand-eye coordination on the wiper pop-up to hit the manual setting full speed button! related to Tesla model s/x recall for touchscreen failure disabling defog/defrost. Proper design requires hard controls (not just touchscreen) for safety-critical items, like lights, wipers, defog/defrost. That's why a hard control for hazard flashers is required. I've spent years designing life-critical medical systems. They all have hazard mitigation matrix sections - analyze possible fault modes, assign chance of happening and severity of impact if they happen, then have a mitigation strategy. This seems to be a system design flaw.

We picked up out new Model Y on 2/13/2021 from minneapolis, due to living in iowa and that being the closest store. After leaving minneapolis, the interior heat quit working. We messed with the controls all we could and it would not start again. The exterior temperature was in the negative teens. At one point on the 2 hour 45 minute drive home the interior cabin temperature was in the single didgets. It continues to not work correctly from the interior controls. I was unable to get ahold of anyone at Tesla to find a better solution other than just getting home. Online research says that this is an issue many people have come across that I was not made aware of. The windows of the vehicle were beginning to frost over during our drive home. We restarted the vehicle multiple times, and have been able to get the car to warm by using the Tesla app on our phones, but once we start driving the heater stops working. I feel it is unacceptable to have received a new vehicle with 6 miles on the odometer in the upper midwest with a heater that does not work as intended.

My defroster has failed for the second time. The car fails to provide heat in cold temperatures, suddenly and without warning. This presents a dangerous condition when driving in winter climates and results in the windshield icing up inside and out. I have been in constant contact with the dealer and they have replaced sensors. Now they have stated that the car performs as it should, and is made for warmer climates. The last time the failure took place, I was driving in a snowstorm and the windshield iced over, bad enough that the windshield wipers froze in place. I am also being told that the car must warm up for 45 minutes prior to driving, due to this condition. My car is no longer drivable when the tempi tire is below 15f without reasonable risk of becoming impaired. I have requested the service department to repair my car again, they have refused, stating it is normal operation for this model. Again, when on hi defrost in temperatures below 15f, the cars climate control cannot supply enough heat to properly keep the windshield clear.

Heat doesn't work on new Model Ys. For cold climates this should be a huge issue. Cannot defrost windows. Can't get the cabin heat on could result in hypothermia if tire goes flat. This is a wide spread issue, apparently faulty sensors, and they're still producing with known problem.

I took delivery of a Model Y Dec 27, 2020 and was concerned re the diver's side view mirror. I also enquired when a service call was needed for an unrelated issue soon after delivery. The mirror adjustments do not allow visualization of the lane on the left or to the rear without bending to the side and craning my neck. It creates an unsafe situation while driving and Tesla says there is nothing wrong. I have tried every possible adjustment and it is a clear design flaw. I am 6 feet tall, so I am sure I am not alone in this issue.

The driver side mirror cannot extend to allow normal side view visibility. I am only 5'8" and at full outward electrical motor stop, about 1/3 of the mirror shows the car body. I have 55yrs of driving and never had a car with this limit. My wife, at 5'2" is able to get proper adjustment.