Assist problems of the 2026 Tesla Model Y

13 problems related to assist have been reported for the 2026 Tesla Model Y. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2026 Tesla Model Y based on all problems reported for the 2026 Model Y.

1 Assist problem

Failure Date: 03/29/2026

On multiple lane roads whe I am driving next to traffic in the same direction, if I try to give a large truck in the next lane plenty of room the lane keep assist activates and pushes me closer to the vehicle I am trying to avoid. When lca first takes control it feels like it turns toward the line it's alerting about. Then it steers me towards the thing I was trying to avoid. The happens every drive and causes close calls with traffic, curbs, or large shrubs in the median. I have other older Tesla Model Ys that allow you to keep this setting off permanently. My new Model Y resets on every drive. It's several menu levels deep and distracting when I have to disable while driving. Please have them let me keep this dangerous option off permanently. Thank you.

2 Assist problem

Failure Date: 03/05/2026

Subject: Tesla self-driving / autopilot incorrect maneuver at intersection vehicle: Tesla (model: **)?software: full self-driving / autopilot (specify which was active)?date: __[xxx]__?time: _[xxx]___?location: _** carlos, [xxx] ____ (city, intersection or street) description of incident: while the vehicle was operating with Tesla’s driver-assistance system engaged, the navigation indicated the car would turn right at an intersection. As the vehicle approached the intersection and began the maneuver, it unexpectedly continued straight instead of completing the right turn. This caused the vehicle to enter the intersection in front of other vehicles that were stopped at another traffic light. I had to intervene to ensure safety. There was no clear reason for the incorrect maneuver, and the system behavior was unexpected and potentially dangerous. Additional information: •weather conditions: ___good weather _clear__ •traffic conditions: ___lot of traffic people getting off work___ •driver intervention: yes / no (explain briefly)yes heading straight to cars if I had not made a quick maneuver and turn the steering wheel. I would have crash hitting at least one or two cars. •dashcam footage available: yes / no no I am submitting this report so the event can be reviewed for possible software or safety issues with the driver-assistance system. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

3 Assist problem

Failure Date: 02/11/2026

I am reporting a safety incident involving my Tesla while autopilot/full self-driving was engaged. On February 11, 2025 at approximately 9:22 am, on waccamaw medical park CT conway, SC 29526, I was driving on a normal city street with the system actively controlling steering and speed. Without any warning or alert, the vehicle suddenly steered to the right toward the curb and struck it. I was very attentive, but the steering movement happened too quickly for me to safely prevent the impact. No forward collision warning, lane departure alert, or disengagement occurred prior to the incident. The impact caused damage to the wheel and tire (see attached photo). This behavior appears to be an incorrect steering decision by the automated driving system after misinterpreting the roadway edge or lane boundary. I am requesting review of the vehicle logs and investigation of the system behavior during this event.

4 Assist problem

Failure Date: 02/10/2026

The fsd system in my Model Y is hazardous. When I first purchased the car on 2/9/2026, they secretly loaded it with very outdated software, as follows: “software” 2025. 44. 300 full self-driving v13. 2. 9 I’ve already driven this car 9960 miles, about 85% of which was on fsd. I will itemize for you a list of events that have occurred with this car with me driving for which dash cam footage exists: 1. The car attempted to blow past a school bus picking up passengers at about 40 miles an hour without even slowing down. It was stacked with red and yellow lights everywhere and had two extended stop signs. 2. The car blows past police cars parked on the shoulder of the highway with their roof lights on without slowing down or making any attempt to move into the second lane. 3. While transitioning from one highway to another on an elevated single-lane overpass, on two occasions the car elected to depart the only travel lane and hug the concrete wall on the left side, driving in the dead zone. Both the yellow line and the white line were clear and bright. No traffic or obstacles present. 4. Right after exiting a hwy there were two lanes in my direction and one lane of opposing traffic separated by a clear and bright double yellow line. The car chose to drive in the lane intended for opposing traffic. I have dash of this as well. No traffic or obstacles were present. 5. Car made left turn into opposing traffic lanes. 6. When not on fsd, the lane departure avoidance and emerg. Lane departure avoidance features are both highly defective. They read everything as a lane departure— from tire tracks in the snow, to cracks and seams in the concrete, lines of tar intended to prevent water ingress, shadows, etc. Car almost pulled me hard towards construction workers, oncoming traffic, and nearby vehicles. Tesla refuses to disable. When I disable, it reenables every time I drive. 7. It ran over a curb on fsd, twice.

5 Assist problem

Failure Date: 11/30/2025

Approximately one month after purchasing a new vehicle, the steering system suddenly failed without any warning. While the car was parked at home and started normally, the steering wheel became extremely heavy, hot, and then completely locked. The vehicle could not be steered at all and became entirely non-drivable. Multiple warning messages appeared, including warnings related to reduced steering assist effectiveness and lane departure avoidance being unavailable. This occurred at approximately 1,000 miles. The failure happened suddenly with no prior symptoms. This defect created a serious safety risk. If this had occurred while driving, it could have resulted in loss of vehicle control and a potential crash. The vehicle was not drivable and had to be towed to a Tesla service center. The issue has been reported to Tesla and is currently under inspection. The exact cause of the failure is unknown at this time. A sudden and complete loss of steering control on a nearly new vehicle is extremely dangerous and indicates a potential defect in the steering system or related electrical components.

6 Assist problem

Failure Date: 11/21/2025

My car installed update v12 (2025. 38. 8. 7) last night. This morning I was driving to work using autopilot when alarms sounded, the hazard lights turned on, and the screen flashed a warning that I had to take over immediately. The message included a note that autopilot had failed due to a "systems error. " the navigation and visualization screen froze, went blank, and took 10 minutes to come back on. I asked Tesla to roll back the update and they have told me that they cannot do that. I came very close to crashing into a concrete guard rail as the car was going around a turn when the system failed.

7 Assist problem

Failure Date: 11/15/2025

While driving in rain at night, the vehicle’s automated driving system attempted to make a turn at an intersection near active train tracks. Instead of remaining on the roadway, the system steered the vehicle directly onto the train tracks, where the vehicle became stuck between the tracks and the paved road surface. All four tires were damaged, and the vehicle could not return to the travel lane under its own control. If a train had been approaching, this situation could have resulted in a severe or fatal collision. I had to manually reverse the vehicle a significant distance to return to the roadway. The malfunction appeared to result from the automated driving system misidentifying the roadway under rain and low-visibility conditions. This suggests a recurring risk for any vehicle using the system at this location in similar conditions. The safety issue has not yet been inspected or confirmed by the manufacturer. No warning lights or alerts were displayed prior to the incident. The affected components and system are available for inspection upon request. I also have dash-cam video of the incident documenting the event.

8 Assist problem

Failure Date: 09/27/2025

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? the full self-driving (fsd) system malfunctioned. While traveling northbound with the flow of traffic in the middle lane of a surface street, the vehicle initiated a sudden right turn onto a freeway on-ramp at excessive speed and without adequate steering input. This resulted in the vehicle colliding with the left-side barrier. The vehicle is currently in the custody of state farm insurance and can be made available for inspection upon request. Dashcam footage of the incident has been preserved. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? the unexpected maneuver caused the vehicle to lose control and strike the barrier, placing both the driver and other motorists at risk. The driver had no time to react to this unexpected action. The driver sustained a whiplash injury along with left shoulder and right chest pain. If another vehicle had been present in the adjacent lane, a collision could have occurred. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? no. The issue has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or service center at this time. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? the vehicle has been inspected by state farm insurance for collision damage. A request has been made to Tesla to preserve and provide all electronic data logs, event data, and over-the-air communications. No law enforcement or ems responded at the scene. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? no warning lamps, messages, or alerts were displayed prior to or during the incident. The maneuver occurred suddenly and without any indication that corrective driver action was needed.

9 Assist problem

Failure Date: 08/21/2025

My Tesla Model Y was in full self driving mode when it turned into a garbage truck, leading to a total loss to my car. There were no warnings from the Tesla system that could have helped me prevent the crash. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but my car is not longer usable.

10 Assist problem

Failure Date: 08/05/2025

Update to odi 11678614. This problem applies to non-fsd (full self driving) Tesla Model Y cars. Tesla's manual describes autopilot as traffic aware cruise control - it's the first step on non-fsd cars. The second step on non-fsd cars, autosteer, is active lane keeping. In older ys, the first stalk pull engages autopilot, second pull engages autosteer. 2026 juniper doesn't have a stalk - a single scroll wheel press engages both. I read the 300 page juniper 2026 Model Y manual before driving it for the first time. On page 108, it lists 7 things that will cause autopilot to disengage. I presumed that comprehensive list was complete. Unable to attach. Having *autopilot* disengage when turning the wheel in *autosteer* is not listed. During my 59k miles on my 2021 model y, I used autosteer for at least 20k miles. Turning the wheel in autosteer did * disengage autopilot. In my first emergency situation in the 2026 juniper Model Y, turning the wheel * disengage autopilot, and the regen properly kicked in for the disengagement. This action came very close to causing a serious accident. My objections are 1) the action of *autopilot* (disengage / remain engaged) when the wheel is turned in *autosteer* is not documented, and 2) it's different between the old and new ys using the same current software. I understand there were problems with autopilot remaining engaged, and perhaps the change was a good idea; that's an entirely different discussion. Make the action consistent and document it and I'm happy. Summary: in heavy traffic, while on autopilot / autosteer (cruise + active lane keeping), the car beside me suddenly tried to pull into my lane. I made an emergency lane change by turning the wheel, but the cruise also disengaged, (contrary to operation in the prior model) and went to maxiumum regen braking, causing the car behind me in the new lane to nearly rear-end me. Punching the accelerator during the surprising braking avoided the collision.

11 Assist problem

Failure Date: 08/05/2025

I've driven my old 2021 Tesla Model Y for 4 years / 59k miles. Four days ago, I got a new 2026 Tesla Model Y. The new y has made a change to the interaction of the cruise control and automatic lane keeping. In the old one, first cruise was enabled, then lane keeping. If you disengaged lane keeping by overriding the steering wheel, cruise control was maintained. In the new y, a single selection enables both cruise and lane keeping. The safety issue is that overriding lane keeping by turning the steering wheel disengages both features at once - the old method kept cruise control enabled. I was driving in heavy traffic today on a 6 lane interstate with cruise and lane keeping enabled. The car next to me abruptly swerved into my lane, causing me to make an emergency lane change to avoid a collision. When I overrode the lane keeping to avoid the other car by turning the steering wheel, my cruise control also disengaged (unlike the old system), which caused maximum regenerative braking to kick in, abruptly slowing me in the new lane. I had to punch the accelerator to avoid being rear-ended in the new lane. This change in lane-keeping / cruise control applies to all new 2025/2026 Model Ys - the "juniper" model update. This change, according to reddit and facebook forums, seems to be universally hated and many other drivers have raised the same safety concerns. I agree with them, but didn't make a report until now because I had not yet experienced an issue where this almost contributed to a high-speed crash. Thank you.

12 Assist problem

Failure Date: 07/12/2025

I was driving with fsd on highway 520 and had to intervene to take control when a bumper showed up on the road. When fsd was driving in standard mode, it was driving at 72 miles/ hr and was too close to the prior car. When the prior car quickly dodged the bumper my car was already too close to the bumper and needed to make a quick turn. The car almost rolled over. Dashcam video: https://drive. Google. Com/file/d/1bp11q2d-nrpz8rm1haq2eymaros6ug7h/view?usp=drive_link.

13 Assist problem

Failure Date: 06/22/2025

I owned the vehicle less than a month, using full supervised drive, fsd. Today 6/22/2025 1:45 pm almost had an accident. The vehicle was in the right made a left turn crossing a yellow line, then made a turn in a white line, in front of the vehicle behind me. I took control of the vehicle to proceed in the correct lane. On another occasion it made a right turn, corrected itself to the left lane as it should have done. I am hearing impaired, focus on the road, cannot look at the screen monitor while driving. The vehicle stopped, advised me fsd was inoperable, had to manual drive to my destination. There is no warning, alerts for the hearing impaired. Other issues driving in the wrong lane, then at the last minute changes to the correct lane, I am certain cutting off drivers. Unknown.


Other Lane Departure related problems of the 2026 Tesla Model Y


Model Y Service Bulletins
Model Y Defect Investigations