Adaptive Cruise Control Problems of Tesla Model Y - part 1

Tesla’s full self-driving (fsd) system has repeatedly demonstrated unsafe behavior in my 2021 Model Y (VIN [xxx] , ~60,184 miles). The issues involve adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assistance, and forward collision warning. Fsd frequently follows vehicles too closely, leaving insufficient distance. When I disengage, I am left with no safe option: braking hard risks being rear-ended and triggers a hard-braking event, while lifting off the accelerator leaves me dangerously close, still flagged as unsafe following. Fsd often waits until less than a mile before highway exits to attempt lane changes, causing last-second darting, missed exits, or unsafe maneuvers. It also performs excessive and unnecessary lane changes that add risk without improving efficiency. Merges are frequently unsafe, forcing me to brake hard to let others pass or accelerate aggressively to avoid being cut off. On several occasions, fsd has jerked or swerved into adjacent lanes without signaling, seemingly triggered by shadows or changes in the road surface. These phantom maneuvers are unpredictable and hazardous. On [xxx] at about [xxx], at a t-shaped intersection, fsd failed to yield to a vehicle traveling straight with the right of way while I was making a left turn. I had to slam on the brakes to disengage, narrowly avoiding a collision. This was the second such incident in the same intersection in one week. These repeated failures—unsafe following, late exit attempts, failed merges, phantom swerves, and failure to yield—create significant risks for me, my passengers, and surrounding drivers. The problem has been reported to Tesla multiple times via in-car voice reports and a written service request, and logs from my vehicle should confirm these events. No warning lamps or system alerts appeared before or during the failures. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2021 Tesla Model Y 🔎.

This happened after I installed the most recent software version. My wife was driving with fsd enabled when the car suddenly braked hard. A little while later, as it was supposed to make a left turn, it suddenly accelerated on its own, ignored a red light, and drove straight through the intersection. A warning light appeared on the screen, notifying her that fsd was inoperable, but it was already accelerating, so it was too late to intervene. Therefore, the car crashed with another car. My wife, mom, and my baby were in the car, and my wife got injury on her face. I have a recorded video, and Tesla should have the log for that moment.

When using the adaptive cruise control or “autopilot” feature on my Model Y, the vehicle will brake extremely hard without warning. This sudden, unnecessary braking is commonly referred to as phantom braking. The failure is available for inspection upon request. This malfunction poses a significant safety risk to myself and others, especially vehicles following behind, as it could lead to rear-end collisions. The issue is widespread, with many other drivers experiencing the same problem. The problem is easily reproducible on highways, particularly at certain intersections where no obstacle is present. The system will sometimes display a “curvature assist” prompt despite the road being straight, causing the vehicle to brake abruptly. I have not taken the vehicle to a dealer because the warranty has expired. The issue has not been confirmed by a dealer or independent service center, nor has it been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance representatives. However, I reported it directly to Tesla and have received no response. No warning lamps or error messages appear before the failure, aside from the inaccurate “curvature assist” prompt. Cause: unknown.

See all problems of the 2023 Tesla Model Y 🔎.

The curvature assist function activates and applies the brakes automatically on straight and level sections of freeways with no observable obstacles or curves, requiring driver to resume acceleration to override the brakes.

Traveling today using the cruise control function in Tesla Model Y, the car took over the control of the car and applied braking for no clear reason. Was going 70 miles an hour, had been using the cruise control for about 30 minutes when incident occurred. There were semi trucks in the slow lane, I was in the fast lane. There were no vehicles in front of my car. The car suddenly lunged forward as the brakes were automatically applied. Simultaneously, the steering wheel began to jerk back and forth causing the car to veer back and forth. Vehicles around me began braking as well to avoid rear ending my car and to avert hitting my car as it veered back and forth. I had to fight the steering wheel in an attempt to pull it off the active roadway and then the car suddenly gave all control back to me at which time I was able to disable the cruise control and take full control.

See all problems of the 2024 Tesla Model Y 🔎.

While driving a Tesla Model Y on a freeway in arkansas, the vehicle was operating in autopilot mode (Tesla's driver-assistance system). During a highway merge, the vehicle followed a state trooper's car too closely and failed to slow down appropriately. The trooper had to apply his brakes to avoid a collision. After stopping the vehicle, the trooper issued a written warning, explicitly attributing the issue to equipment failure and advising immediate correction. This issue appears to involve a failure of the adaptive cruise control and forward collision detection system while autopilot was engaged. No collision occurred, but the situation posed a clear safety risk to both the trooper and my vehicle. This was not the first issue with the vehicle's automation. In a previous incident (November 2024), the vehicle exceeded the posted speed limit while on autopilot, resulting in a traffic citation. Tesla has been notified, and a service request is open. Diagnostic review is pending. There were no warning lights or alerts from the vehicle before the incident. The vehicle remains available for further inspection if required.

When using Tesla autopilot (adaptive cruise control) Tesla curvature assist will engage on straight roads during nice weather and great forward visibility. When Tesla curvature assist engages, the car brakes and slows dramatically. I have had drivers behind me think I was brake checking them or messing with them. This feature is dangerous and there is not an option to disable.

See all problems of the 2022 Tesla Model Y 🔎.

Accident involving my Tesla while the full self-driving (fsd) feature was engaged. Vehicle information: [2022, model - y, ] incident summary: while driving with fsd engaged, the vehicle hydroplaned and the steering wheel started spinning uncontrollably and despite attempts, couldn't regain control of the car, and it spun while crossing lanes. A truck hit the front of the car and ended up on shoulder.

Three different occasions, while utilizing adaptive cruise the car applied all breaks, causing me to lunge forward with the car coming to a complete stop. I did not see anything that would had caused the car to apply the breaks and the camera's did not record any obstacle. This was brought to the Tesla dealerships attention and I was told there is nothing that can be done about it. If I had not been wearing my seat belt, the potential emergency braking could had resulted in me sustaining a blunt force impact to my chest with the steering wheel, not to mention a possible motor vehicle accident with the vehicle behind me. I did look through the manual and there is no way of me turning feature off or lowering to a warning versus a suddent stop.

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.

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.

In fsd mode, my Tesla Model Y always heads to the "do not enter" road and I have to take over manually to prevent entering the "do not enter" road. This has happened almost all the time I am there. This is a very unsafe. Tesla needs to correct this issue at their highest priority.

All cameras went blank on vehicle 4 year and 7 months old. All driver assistance systems became suddenly disabled. Tesla service diagnosis established that computer needs to be replaced for a cost of $2,000.

I have had multiple incidents of "curvature assist active" message appearing on screen while on cruise control. It suddenly reduces the speed of the car. This happens on a straight road with no curves or slope. It also happens at random. On the same stretch of road at the same time of the day, this issue pops up sometimes and doesn't on other times. Every time this comes up, the car reduces speed suddenly. For example, I go from 45 mph to 23 mph in a few moments. If there is a lot of traffic behind me and the car behind me was not expecting such a sudden decrease in speed as there is no obstruction in front of me, this could lead to a safety issue. I took the car in for repair. The technicians could not find out what the issue was. They said they recalibrated the sensors and test drove and did not see this occur. As this is occurring randomly it might not have shown up when they test drove. But, it happened to me when I took the car back and it keeps happening randomly at least twice a day. There is no specific location and/or time of the day. Tesla doesn't provide an option to disable this "curvature assist" feature for something so basic as cruise control. Along with this I have had 2 incidents where my car applied brakes suddenly when there was no obstruction in front of me. In both incidents, I had to immediately take over and speed up to avoid any issue with traffic behind me. If there is any safety incident due to these issues, Tesla will have to be held liable.

While driving along a few roads using traffic aware cruise control (tacc) or autopilot (ap), the car will suddenly brake for no reason at all. Speeds reduced from 75 to 50 in 2 seconds. Had there been a car close behind me, we may have collided. I am able to reproduce this on several other roads as well. I have not yet reported this to the manufacturer, but a review of internet forums shows this to be a relatively common occurrence among owners. They refer to this as phantom braking.

It is impossible to disable automatic emergency, breaking system permanently. The vehicle brakes strongly and abruptly causing the cars behind to slam on their brakes and potentially cause accidents. Every time I disable it, it comes back on next time we get into the car. There has been several instances where the vehicle hit the brakes really hard, even if there was nothing in front of it. . I was told that this is happening because Tesla does not use sensors but realize on cameras for these features and it can be quite wrong. I don’t know how to drive this car safely because the car makes decisions for me. Since it happens all the time, I’m having to keep my foot on the gas, and when it slams on the brakes, I counter it by pressing the gas pedal. The incident date is just an estimate, but it happens all the time.

Tesla's fsd functions slowly has been reduced in the last years. Firts Tesla disabled the double pull function, resulted taken away the standard cruise control function. Lately, the fully paid ($12000) fsd is not recognizing streetsigns anymore, which worked perfectly before. This function is crucial to manage speeds, lanes, pedestrians and school zones or just attend in public roads! Tesla service center refuses to fix this issue or offer any additional solutions! this is very concerning and those vehicles with full fsd are not safe to operate on public roads anymore! thank you.

I am writing to raise a safety concern regarding the use of Tesla’s full self-driving (fsd) system on my 2023 Tesla Model Y when a rear hitch-mounted bike rack is installed. Numerous users, including myself, have experienced dangerous or erratic behavior from fsd when carrying bicycles on a rear-mounted rack. Specific issues include: false detection of a trailing vehicle directly behind the car. Phantom braking or swerving, including abrupt lane changes or acceleration. Unreliable navigation at intersections (e. G. , nearly running stop signs) due to apparent misinterpretation of sensor data. In some cases, tailgating or aggressive following behavior by the vehicle. These behaviors appear to stem from the fsd system misinterpreting the presence or visual signature of the rack and bikes as another vehicle. In several online reports, this has led to unsafe maneuvers. To temporarily mitigate the issue, some drivers have resorted to taping over the rear camera, which is neither safe nor user-friendly. While I recognize Tesla has made improvements such as camera obstruction warnings (e. G. , in fsd v12. 5. 6+), these do not address the core misclassification problem. My requests: that Tesla officially acknowledge and investigate fsd misbehavior in the presence of rear-mounted bike racks. That Tesla provide clear driver guidance on whether fsd should be used when such a rack is installed. That the fsd system include an option for a “bike rack mode” or alternative logic to prevent rear-camera misinterpretation. That this concern be escalated within your safety and ai development teams to ensure user safety is prioritized.

The incident occurred on [xxx] around [xxx] (from the dashcam footages) in a highway (don't know the place, but I have a police report). I was driving my Tesla Model Y 2026 with full self-driving (fsd v13. 2. 8) beta engaged when the vehicle suddenly off the road and hit the fence on shoulder. I retrieved dashcam footage from the incident, including footage leading up to and during the accident. The fsd system malfunctioned, the car is in a body shop and is available for inspection upon request if done quickly; huge risk to myself and others because no way know when the fsd failed; from this link, same issue: [xxx] the vehicle has not inspected by others no any warnings, the fsd had been working properly in the firt 300 miles trip; but all of sudden, swerved to the roadside with full speed. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The issue lies with Tesla’s full self-driving (supervised) system 12. 6. 4 on hw3. While driving on roads with lower speed limits (such as 35 or 45 mph), the vehicle occasionally brakes abruptly for no apparent reason, even when there are no vehicles or obstacles ahead. This unexpected braking behavior can be dangerous, as it may lead to rear-end collisions if the driver behind is not attentive or prepared to stop suddenly.

This started at about 65000 miles in my 2023 Model Y. The rear camera first lost picture and I received a warning that it may be intermittent. It has progressed now to the point that autopilot, navigation, all cameras, cruise control, auto headlight, and auto wipers are all nonfunctional. The car does not know its location. All safety features such as lanekeeping, cross traffic alert, auto braking are disabled. The rearview camera no longer functions. Software updates no longer complete downloading. While there are numerous reports of computer short circuits in hardware 4 cars, the only solution I am offered is to have the computer replaced at my own cost of just under 3000 dollars. And that would be warranted only for one year or 12500 miles. Reviewing the submissions on the NHTSA website as well as searching online, this problem is not infrequent. I do not feel safe letting my wife or daughter drive the car. Certain 2024 and 2025 models with this problem have been recalled for new computers. This must be expanded to include 2023 models as well.

This is my 7th report. On [xxx] [xxx] pm I was traveling home from alburquerque and was just past isleta resort and casino heading south on [xxx]. I don't use cruise control very often because of the emergency braking that occurs (and that I have reported several times before). I was on a long drive and decided to try it on a short section of [xxx] on my first day, and found that it was slowing on it's own when I approached a car from behind. Two days later on the way home, when there was no one in front of me, it slowed significantly without needing to and I thought it was better than the past rapid braking. . . As I was thinking about this, the car abruptly "slammed on the brakes". I was forced forward but had my seat belt on. Stuff fell off back seat onto the floor. The igloo cooler on the front passenger floor toppled forward. I'm quite sure there would have been a accident had someone been behind me. Additionally, the car is not recording my tire rotation from 16,000 miles, and continually says the last tire rotation was at 8,000. Good thing discount tire keeps track, as I am now overdue for another rotation (25k+ miles). Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6.

Adaptive cruise control changes speed without warning, often when passing a truck clearly in another lane, but also for no apparent reason. This occurs an average of approximately once every 5 miles, but at irregular intervals. It slows quickly enough to be a hazard. This occurs in all modes (set by speed limit or manual).

This incident happened on [xxx], I just got the Tesla data and police report. Here are the events as I remembered: - I was driving my 2023 Tesla y with fsd supervised (v13. 2. 8) along [xxx] entered from [xxx] and driving close to north of [xxx] without any issue - noticed a car in front of me braking hard (about 6secs from the recording dashcam footage) - realized fsd was not braking hard enough (or at least it did not feel like it) - slammed on the brake for what felt like an eternity (about 2 secs from the dashcam footage) - rear end collision on the front car at ~25 mph, airbag deployed. I remembered feeling the brake pedal vibrating but did not stop the car at all. By analyzing the raw data provided by Tesla, it is found brake, accelerator, aeb, abs and tsc were completely messed up after fsd failed, please refer to the attached analysis report. Note: the dashcam video file and the original Tesla data are available for reviewing if any need as I cannot upload along with this report. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

While driving westbound on lee jackson memorial highway (u. S. Route 50) after passing the intersection with stonecroft boulevard in chantilly, virginia, the autopilot system on my Tesla Model Y malfunctioned. Without any warning or obstacle in my lane, the vehicle suddenly and sharply veered to the right, directly toward two vehicles traveling in the adjacent lane. I was holding the steering wheel at the time and was able to immediately countersteer to prevent a collision. There were no audible or visual warnings from the vehicle before or during the incident. The autopilot system did not display any messages or alerts, and no braking or turn signal was engaged by the system. The lane shift was abrupt and uncommanded. The dashcam footage clearly captured the incident, and it is available for inspection upon request. To my knowledge, the issue has not yet been reproduced or inspected by the manufacturer or service center. The vehicle has not been examined by police, insurance representatives, or others at this time. This unexpected maneuver created a serious safety risk for myself and nearby drivers.

Any of categories are matching with my issue. 3 1/2 years old, 64,000 miles Tesla Model Y, ecu, which controls full self driving , and drive assist system, is fault right after warranty expires. The replacement cost is $2,800. Does it make sense that ecu fault on the owner? it is only 3 1/2 years old car. It is definitely defective part, but Tesla service is not replace for free. I am concerning if ecu fails while I am driving.

The adaptive cruse control would stop working off an on. Also it would give false land departure warnings causing driver to swerve thinking they were going to run into another care.

This is my 6th complaint about Tesla. I wrote recently when my remote drivers could not unlock my car. I solved it myself and when I got home, I called roadside service for help re-programing the key card that failed. The person told me to call Tesla on Monday about the inability of my other drivers to unlock my car. I did that yesterday, and I told him I thought it was something wrong with my car, and suspected I needed to take it in for service. He said no, it wasn't the car but that I needed premium connectivity ($10/mo) in order for my drivers to be able to unlock my car. He put me on hold and came back to tell me that "it's a safety thing" so that no one can remotely unlock my car. The reason I put 2 friends in other states on my profile was for them to be able to help me, as a single woman who lives alone and takes camping trips alone. That is not a possibility. Furthermore, I asked him about the sudden braking on cruise control and he'd never heard of it. He uses the auto drive, that they don't call auto drive anymore. . . Presumably because of the safety issues. I think this car needs to be recalled like the trucks were. They are not safe and Tesla doesn't care. By the way, the car has 5g, but I cannot stream my music or listen to podcasts, to which I'm already subscribed, without paying for premium connectivity. What a scam.

This is my 5th complaint and involves, again, the key card. This is the used key card the el paso Tesla dealer was kind enough to give me, and help me program, when one of the original key cards, less than a year old, stopped working. (Tesla wanted me to pay $45 for 2 new key cards) the used key card stopped functioning so I planned to call Tesla and have them "reprogram it". . . Something that must be done while I am in the car. I went on a last-minute trip and took my spare, barely-used key card. I also had my phone but didn't realize I'd not re-downloaded the Tesla app when I recently troubleshot my phone. Later in the day I parked at city of rocks state park in nm, still without connectivity, and locked the car with the "good" key card. Then I misplaced the key card! I called one of my 2 backup drivers and asked her to unlock and start my car for me. Her app did not allow her to do so, even though it showed the location of my car at city of rocks. . . It said "move closer to the car". (she lives in CA). I had to get a ride to wifi, download the Tesla app, and when I tried using it to unlock the car, it said "you must be closer to the car". When I got to the car, I was able to unlock and start it using the phone key. After arriving home, I used my app to get roadside assistance and asked for a phone call when they texted to confirm my location. I explained that I didn't need service, just needed help re-programing my defective card. (I had since found the good card!) the woman on the other end was helpful but it was difficult for her also. We ended up removing the defective key from my profile, though it required a lot of work and also required the "good" key card. I have to call Tesla on Monday (it was Sunday) to get the card re-programmed. Had my difficulty been in a high-traffic or unsafe area I would have been in trouble. The "backup" drivers on my app are there for emergency access to my car, supposedly from any location.

This is my 4th safety report about the same issue: unexpected braking while on cruise control. Since my last report, Tesla offered another free month of auto pilot but I did not take it for fear of this braking issue. On Tuesday [xxx] I was returning to my home in las cruces nm from colorado. I was on [xxx] toward albuquerque, and there was very little traffic. I decided to see if I could get away with the cruise control. As I was pulling into bernalillo, there were some oncoming cars in a left-turn lane at a signal, and my car braked automatically. . . Enough to lurch me forward. I decided to stop at the "new" Tesla dealer in bernalillo (I got my car in santa fe) and ask about the automatic breaking and whether they'd fixed it. The 2 service employees looked at each other and one said "no". I then asked about whether I needed to re-boot my key card since my screen went blank while I was in CO, during a snow storm, parked. I luckily had my phone and on the Tesla app, under roadside service, it gave me the option to re-boot the screen! I did so. The serviceman said he didn't think the blank screen had anything to do with my key card, but I could re-boot it if I want to. (a prior complaint also reported the failed key card in less than a year and Tesla's unwillingness to replace it). Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Several times on residential speed control the system does not recognize yellow flashing school speed reduction signs. Never slows or breaks. The speed of 25 mph does not register on the screed (other speed signs do). I told Tesla service center when other services were being done. They said they were aware. I have seen no improvement over the last several months.

Autopilot suddenly slams on the brakes going [xxx] on [xxx] just north of ankeny, IA when you hit the underpass at [xxx] [xxx] , [xxx] ). This happens every time for the past year about. No software update has fixed this yet. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Per the Tesla service team, there is a defect in the car computer which causes intermittent signal of the backup camera, failure of automatic emergency braking, and also autopilot unavailability in a 2021 Tesla Model Y with less than 40k miles on it. This issue only occurred after a software update and affects key safety features such as blind spot warning proximity warnings. The Tesla service team said the only way to solve it was to replace the entire car computer and charged us $2,583 for their own product defect. The car did issue alerts to us saying that autopilot and automatic emergency braking were unavailable, but did not detect issues with intermittent camera signal.

I was driving on a three-lane highway (I-495) using the adaptive cruise control (autosteer) when I suddenly noticed the car to my right dangerously veering toward my vehicle. In an attempt to change lanes to the left, my car wildly overcorrected to the left, nearly sending me into the highway median, followed by another overcorrection to the right. The steering wheel felt almost uncontrollable. Luckily no collision.

After update 2024. 38. 2 they introduced a "active curve assist" which can't be disabled while using the cruise control. This has caused the car to excessively brake (70mph to 45mph), a couple times while a vehicle is following resulting in a near rear end collision and has created dangerous situations.