Automatic Emergency Braking Problems of Tesla Model Y - part 1

Phantom brake incident today,5/26/26. Traveling 35mph, brakes slammed on for no apparent reason. Seatbelt tightened and my head launched forward. Neck is very strained.

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I have written several times before about my car's phantom braking in cruise control. When the santa fe Tesla dealer, where I bought the car, told me recently that the problem had been fixed, I was disappointed they didn't bother to tell me, but thrilled to hear the news. On may 12-13 I drove over 900 miles. I tried cruise control for significant portions of both drives and did not experience one problem. Finally, I thought, they fixed the problem. . . And how nice it was to have cruise control for extended drives. Not so soon: on may 19th I was driving 2 friends up to volunteer at the wildlife refuge on I-25 in northern new mexico. The phantom braking happened again. My friends were dismayed. . . One thought I had seen something in the road that she didn't see. The other, in the back seat, tried to understand what happened. Please, this is beyond the pale! of course I will call and take the car in to the dealer. . . An hour's drive for me. I will be surprised if they fix it, and if they do it under warranty. I did just buy new tires (see previous report about original tires with multiple flats and not even making it to their 40,000 mile warranty) so I'm no longer worried about getting a flat in the rural areas where I live and drive.

See all problems of the 2023 Tesla Model Y 🔎.

While my vehicle was operating in full self-driving (fsd) mode, it encountered an accident upon attempting to park in my garage. The collision resulted in substantial damage to the driver’s side rear end and the garage wall. Notably, there was no manual intervention during the entire journey from my son’s school and the parking attempt. The fsd system failed to detect the proximity of the garage and did not initiate braking or provide any warning before impacting the wall. In this instance, the fsd system exhibited multiple failures. I have subsequently reported the incident to Tesla.

The full self driving system has malfunctioned and is failing. I was put in incredibly dangerous situations that were near potentially fatal accidents. Had someone been a little bit closer when following me, I would not have had enough time to counter the issue. Yes it has been confirmed but not nearly to the extent that I have experienced it it has been inspected by a local service center from the company. There have been some visibility warnings but nothing else.

### summary: sudden unintended acceleration (sua) from a stationary position. ### vehicle configuration: 2023 Tesla Model Y long range awd. Battery type: nmc. ### incident details: on April 19, 2026, at approximately 10:00 a. M. , the vehicle was stationary on a flat surface at 6722 vista del Mar Ave, san diego. I was in the driver's seat with the vehicle "on" but stopped, conversing with two witnesses. My feet were completely clear of both the accelerator and brake pedals. ### the event: without driver input, the vehicle suddenly and forcefully accelerated forward. I immediately slammed the service brake with full force. The vehicle traveled approximately 20 feet before the brakes brought the car to a halt. ### evidence & gaps: two eyewitnesses confirmed the vehicle moved autonomously without pedal interaction. A manufacturer data report was requested, but it showed a specific data gap for the exact seconds of the acceleration event, despite providing second-by-second logs for the rest of the day.

While in self driving the car veered into a driveway and hit a house.

On April 11 2026, I was involved in a serious accident involving my 2026 Tesla Model Y. At the time of the incident, I was returning home from my daughter’s event in downtown and had just entered my residential driveway. As I approached the driveway, I applied the brakes and slowed the vehicle. While momentarily stationary or near-stationary, I spoke to my wife, who was seated in the front passenger seat, advising her to secure the food she was holding due to the uneven surface of the driveway. Upon removing my foot from the brake pedal, the vehicle suddenly and unexpectedly accelerated without any input . The vehicle proceeded forward and collided with my garage door. Notably, no collision warning alerts were issued, and no automatic emergency braking system engaged prior to or during the impact. Following the initial collision with garage door, the vehicle failed to stop and instead continued to accelerate into the garage, striking a refrigerator. The impact resulted in substantial damage to the refrigerator and caused extensive structural harm to the property, affecting the garage, adjacent living space, floors, and interior walls. The severity of the collision triggered deployment of the front airbags. At the time, my wife was seated in the front passenger seat, and my [xxx] daughter, along with her friend, was seated in the rear of the vehicle. Emergency services were called, I have forehead bruises and a burn on my hand from airbag deployment. My wife is advised physiotherapy for severe back pain and my daughter has since experienced ongoing emotional distress, nightmares. I am dealing with car and home claims issues for damages I am seeking a formal investigation into the cause of this incident, specifically addressing: 1)the unexpected and unintended acceleration of the vehicle 2)the failure of the vehicle to stop after the initial collision with the garage door 3)the absence of forward collision warnings and failure of automatic emergency braking . Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of info.

On [xxx] 1512pm. Drive on [xxx] with auto pilot driving. Seen on construction and hit some object driver side by front bumper , fender, side mirror,door and wheel. Couldn't avoid crash by control handle. There is none of airbag action. All deployed. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Car was in fsd mode, backing out of a parking place very slowly when it accelerated and crashed into a post and wall. No other cars or people were involved, but no alarms, beeps, or warnings were sounded and the screen/monitor/camera systems went blank simultaneously. This caused over $5000 worth of damage per the estimate provided by the only body shop in the area allowed to fix Teslas. There is also a gap in saved data per our retrieval from the usb and camera installed in the vehicle.

See all problems of the 2025 Tesla Model Y 🔎.

The vehicle was delivered with a critical safety defect in the braking system and inoperable safety software (gps/fsd/navigation). Upon further inspection by the dealer's own technician, it was confirmed that the vehicle had 'extremely poor brake feel' and 'extreme rust build up' on all pads and rotors, which violated Tesla’s 6mm minimum safety standard for used vehicles. Additionally, a physically damaged windshield harness caused the failure of gps and fsd features. These defects posed a significant safety risk to myself and my family during operation. The dealer has documented and confirmed these safety issues but is now refusing a buyback and is retaliating with storage fees for my rejection of the unsafe product. No warning lights appeared prior to the technician's discovery of the brake defects.

See all problems of the 2022 Tesla Model Y 🔎.

Yesterday at about [xxx] I was driving using fsd. I was making a left turn on a green arrow turning from [xxx] onto [xxx] . My car hesitated, then accelerated and then abruptly braked nearly causing me to be rear ended by the SUV behind me who was angrily beeping at me. I had to rapidly accelerate to avoid being hit. The left turn signal was green before during and after my turn. I believe that the sun shining brightly on the traffic light made it difficult for my Tesla to accurately recognize that the turn signal was green. I felt this was very unsafe. [xxx] [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Vehicle: 2023 Tesla Model Y VIN: [xxx] mileage: approximately 40,531 miles software version: 2025. 45. 9 fsd (supervised) version: v14. 2. 2. 4 while driving on [xxx] near the [xxx] entrance in mission viejo, California, the vehicle was operating under full self-driving (supervised) mode. As the freeway lane ended/merged, the vehicle unexpectedly performed a sudden full stop at freeway speed. There was no visible obstruction in front of the vehicle. Multiple vehicles behind me had to brake abruptly to avoid a rear-end collision. The system did not provide any audible or visual warning before the sudden braking. This has created a serious safety risk due to the high-speed freeway environment. This issue appears to be related to lane-ending or merge interpretation by the fsd system. I am concerned that this behavior could result in a rear-end collision. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2024 Tesla Model Y 🔎.

Vehicle will suddenly apply brakes while using standard cruise control for no apparent reason. This is extremely dangerous as it has almost caused several accidents on the highway. I have almost been rear-ended several times. This is a very common problem and well documented problem referred to as "phantom braking" on Teslas and something needs to be done immediately.

On February 11, 2026, the 2025 Tesla Model Y "vision autopark" system initiated an uncommanded high-speed reverse acceleration into a stationary yellow concrete bollard in a parking lot. The vehicle's vision-only parking assist hardware failed to detect a clearly visible, fixed obstruction and displayed a clear path on the system interface immediately before impact. No warning lamps, chimes, messages, or other alerts preceded the failure. The system provided zero indication of the imminent collision. The vehicle closed the distance to the bollard in under one second, exceeding human reaction time and making manual braking intervention impossible before impact. This failure mode — autonomous acceleration toward a stationary object without detection or warning — creates a severe crush hazard for pedestrians and property. The vehicle and its onboard data logs are available for inspection upon request. High-definition video evidence of the failure has been preserved showing the system ignoring the visible obstacle. The problem has not been confirmed by a dealer. The manufacturer's service center refused to inspect the vehicle or review data logs on the date of the incident despite an immediate in-person request. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by insurance, police, or the manufacturer. The failed component is the Tesla vision-only autopark system, including its camera-based object detection and autonomous vehicle control software.

Around 02/10/2026, all of adas functions of my 2022 Tesla Model Y has suddenly stopped working, and the rearview was just black. On 02/27/2026, Tesla service diagnosed the car and tole me that the car computer should be replaced and its total repair cost would be about $3,200. My car's mileage was 51,000 at the onset of the problem, so just passed the standard 50k warranty. My car has total loss of rearview camera (fmvss 111 violation) and loss of active safety systems (aeb/fcw), but Tesla refused to repair a federally mandated safety defect if I don't pay the full repair cost.

I am submitting this complaint regarding a newly leased 2026 Tesla Model Y premium rwd, which I took delivery of on February 6, 2026 from Tesla watertown, MA. I am a returning Tesla customer and entered this lease after test driving the same model on January 24, which did not exhibit any issues. Immediately upon driving the vehicle off the lot (approximately 12 miles), I noticed a persistent rattling noise from the front suspension area. The noise occurs over normal road conditions and has been present since delivery, significantly affecting the quality and value of the vehicle. On February 9, Tesla watertown evaluated the vehicle and later replaced both front upper control arm (fuca) mounts. On February 10, before repairs were completed, multiple safety systems suddenly disabled while driving, including regenerative braking behavior, traction and stability control, lane safety features, and automatic emergency braking, creating a dangerous situation. I returned the vehicle immediately and was provided a loaner. I picked up the vehicle on February 13 and was told the suspension issue was resolved, but the noise remained. I then sought a second opinion at Tesla peabody, where a master technician conducted a ride-along and confirmed the condition. He verified that the latest fuca parts had been installed and the front structural “pencil braces” had been removed per Tesla guidance. I was informed the vehicle falls into a known noise category affecting 2026 rwd Model Y vehicles and that there is currently no repair or engineering solution available. This defect has existed since delivery and remains unresolved after multiple service visits and component replacements. I have contacted Tesla regional leadership and customer support multiple times without response.

Rear-end collision. My Tesla impacted the rear of another vehicle at approximately 15–18 mph. No forward collision warning observed. Owner-provided data shows aeb status as sna. Impact is such that the car is totaled.

On January 20, around 9:35 am, phoenix time, I had the car in self-driving mode for a left-hand turn at the intercession of camino real and river road in tucson, arizona. A real-time view shows that it’s a tricky and dangerous left-hand turn. For the past 3 weeks, the car navigated it well, waiting until it was perfectly safe to do so. Today, however, the car moved quickly and unexpectedly into the center of river road, narrowly escaping a head on collision with a west-bound car, and then paused, squeezed in between west and east-bound lanes when I tapped the brake and took the wheel. Everything happened so quickly. I made the left turn into the east-bound lane, but, looking back, I don’t know how an accident didn’t occur, as traffic was still moving in east-bound lanes rapidly. There must have been enough distance between two cars at just the right time, that nothing hit me.

The vehicle repeatedly [xxx] [xxx], and [xxx] displays critical safety alerts indicating failure of the parking brake and automatic vehicle hold systems. Specific error codes documented include: •di_a246: automatic vehicle hold disabled (use brake pedal when stopping) •epbl_a179: parking brake functions degraded (parking brake may not apply or release) •ui_a019: parking brake functions degraded information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

On January 17, 2026 the vehicle self-accelerated when put in reverse and crashed into a parked truck. This was the second time this occurred. The prior incident occurred on November 29, 2025 when backing out of the garage at our home. The new incident occurred the first time we put the car in reverse after receiving it back after repair from the prior accident (we received it on January 15. 2026 and this was the first time we drove it since then). We had driven the car forward with the full self driving feature turned on and engaged (part of the time and part manually) without incident. However when placed in reverse with the full delf driving turned on but not enagaged the car "took off. " it is only through good fortune no one was seriously injured or killed. Self acceleration in reverse only occurred after the vehicle was serviced by Tesla to repair the full self driving system which, at that time, would only engage intermittently.

All safety and most computer related features in the vehicle have failed. Cruise control, backup cameras, all other cameras, the navigation (assuming this is also impacting the projection of remaining battery life as my car always thinks it is at my home), warning signals for approaching obstacles/dangers, cruise control of any kind does now work, lane departure warning has failed, and automatic windshield wipers do not work. This happened without warning and was not related to an update. On January 13, 2026, the car worked in the morning and then all of these issues started happening. I made a Tesla service appointment, but they are not able to see me until February 3, 2026.

The computer in my car has been undergoing short circuiting, rendering all driver safety features inoperable. This is a known problem with hardware 4 and reported many places. I was backing out of my garage and the read camera and automated braking are not functional and it is nearly impossible to see out the back. When backing out, I struck another car in the driveway, resulting in damage to both cars. Had the system been functional, visibility would have been there and the automated braking would have avoided the collision. The vehicle has been seen by Tesla and I have been told that the warranty has expired and the computer must be replaced at my cost. Tesla has replaced other computers under a recall for the same issue reported. This is a serious safety issue as without a functional computer, features such as software updates, navigation, bilnd spot monitoring, lane keeping, cruise control, all cameras (rear, side, front), autopilot, autobraking etc. Are nonfunctional.

While driving on a residential street at night with full self-driving (supervised) engaged, the vehicle suddenly applied automatic emergency braking without any visible obstacle, vehicle, pedestrian, or hazard present. The braking was abrupt and unexpected and did not correspond to traffic, road conditions, or driver input. No collision occurred, but the sudden stop caused a whiplash effect to occupants, creating a risk of injury despite the absence of an external hazard. The driver immediately disengaged the system after the event. Tesla later reviewed vehicle data and confirmed that an automatic emergency braking event occurred while fsd (supervised) was active. Tesla identified the software version as fsd v14. 2. 1 and documented the incident as unexpected emergency braking, with the date, time, location, and environmental conditions recorded.

Passenger side airbag did not deploy. Emergency auto brake did not seem to work. The passenger side of the vehicle was struck by other car at high speed and sustained significant damage.

Incident summary: car computer (hw3) suffered internal hardware failure on 12/17/25 following software update 2025. 44. 3. While the media screen and rearview camera functioned, the autopilot board (apb) was "mia. " Tesla randolph (invoice #3000s0015357298) confirmed the internal failure and replaced the unit. Safety risk: failure disabled safety-critical adas: automatic emergency braking (aeb) and forward collision warning. Driving visualizations were severely compromised; the vehicle failed to detect pedestrians or lane markings while in motion, creating an immediate collision risk. The car’s active safety "intelligence" was essentially blind despite the camera feed being visible on the screen. Inspection & contradictions: Tesla service confirmed the "internal failure" (12/19-12/23). Note: the service manager verbally claimed "no codes," but the official invoice explicitly states technicians "found multiple alerts present. " part was retained by Tesla. Warning symptoms: failure followed a software reboot loop. Symptoms (mia board/power cycle failure) match recall 25v-002. Vehicle had only 36,289 miles. Reporting as potential hw3 defect expansion.

While full self-driving (supervised) was fully engaged (blue steering wheel icon active), the vehicle approached an uncontrolled intersection, selected the wrong path, hesitated severely (camera shaking violently), provided zero visual or audible warnings, and completely ignored driver's emergency brake input (pedal depressed >90% approximately 1. 5 seconds before impact). The vehicle continued forward by inertia and collided with a roadside curb, resulting in wheel damage. Attached dashcam video clearly shows: • fsd active throughout the event • no alerts or chimes • violent steering oscillation/hesitation • driver's foot slamming brake pedal with no deceleration • impact despite timely braking this incident matches the ongoing NHTSA investigation pe25-012 regarding fsd intersection hesitation and failure to respond to driver input.

When using cruise control (traffic aware cruise control and autosteer) the car acts dangerously and stops for no reason. I've been driving on open roads with no traffic in front of me on regular roads, the car will slam on the brakes and it causes the people behind me to need to slam on their brakes as well. I feel like I'm going to get into an accident constantly. . . I was on the freeway and no one around in front of me and the car slammed on the brakes to almost a stop on a 70 mph speed limit road. Today the same thing occurred in high traffic on a 55mph road, luckily the driver behind me wasn't to close and was able to stop in time . . . There is no option to use regular cruise control or disable enough features to prevent this from occurring. . . It's incredibly terrifying. If they can't do traffic aware cruise, there should be the option to do regular cruise. . . And it shouldn't require passing Tesla $8000 for full self driving to be able to drive your car at a speed without the that of being rear ended. This feels like extortion. . . I've submitted feature requests to Tesla, talked to their bot about fixing this and I've currently been on hold for almost an hour without any response. This dangerous tech is unacceptable!.

I am reporting two severe 'phantom braking' incidents involving my Tesla vehicle while driving without autopilot. In both instances, the vehicle initiated hard emergency braking on a high-speed roadway with no obstacles, pedestrians, or vehicles in my path. This sudden, uncommanded deceleration created an immediate risk of a rear-end collision from following traffic. Incident 1: November 2025 at approximately [xxx]. I was traveling at 30 mph on [xxx] . The car suddenly braked to 0 mph. Weather was sunny, and the road was straight. There were several vehicles following behind me. Incident 2: [xxx], at approximately [xxx]. Location: [xxx], honolulu. The vehicle decelerated from 10mph to 0 mph without warning. In both cases, the car stopped suddenly and was placed in park. I had to put the car in drive to resume driving. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Self driving was maintaining vehicle. Looked at roadway before reaching down to passengers side for water bottle. The weight shift in the seat turned the self driving off immediately while turning sharp left. The Tesla Model Y crossed the left interstate lane barely missing an 18-wheeler. Drove 80mph in the central ditch, branches, and rocks. Car was still in drive, and rolled up to roadside which was covered in dust. The two eighteen-wheelers that I cut off then drove away, and drove Tesla to next exit to see damage. (dashcam footage available. ).

On November 10, 2025 while my 2025 Tesla Model Y was being driven, in miami, florida, around 2:55–3:05 pm, the brakes failed completely. Despite firm brake pedal pressure, the vehicle did not slow down or stop as expected and continued forward until a collision occurred. The brake pedal felt normal with no loss of resistance, but the car did not decelerate as expected. No forward collision warning (fcw) or automatic emergency braking (aeb) activated prior to impact. There were no audible or visual alerts displayed before or during braking. After the collision, the vehicle’s screen displayed messages stating “airbags deployed” and “automatic emergency braking is unavailable. Feature may be restored on next drive. ” however, the airbags did not deploy. A burst of white particulate dust, consistent with airbag propellant or deployment powder, was released inside the cabin. None of the vehicle’s cameras recorded the incident; there is no dashcam or sentry mode footage from that time. At the same time, the cell phone, which was actively linked to the vehicle through bluetooth and the Tesla app, stopped transmitting location data through the life360 app for a few minutes. This may indicate a coinciding electrical or data interruption affecting both the vehicle and connected devices. This incident placed my families safety and that of others at serious risk. Multiple safety systems appear to have failed simultaneously, including the braking function, forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, camera recording systems, and airbag deployment.

My vehicle experienced multiple safety system malfunctions before a minor collision occurred. While driving, the car displayed warnings indicating that traction control had been disabled, followed immediately by a warning that the automatic vehicle hold/brake hold was disabled. These failures happened before any impact. At the same time, the vehicle’s cameras were not functioning correctly, and the vehicle did not provide any forward collision warning. The automatic emergency braking system also did not activate. Because these systems failed, the vehicle did not warn, slow down, or brake to avoid a collision. After the collision, the vehicle showed several additional safety system failures. These included automatic emergency braking unavailable, and repeated safety restraint system faults affecting both the front left and front right restraint systems. The airbags did not deploy even though conditions suggested they should have, and afterwards the vehicle displayed persistent airbag and seatbelt system error icons. The restraint system appears to have gone offline. The vehicle is currently unsafe to drive due to failures in braking, traction control, perception/camera systems, forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, and the airbag/restraint systems. These failures occurred before the collision, contributed to the collision, and continued afterward. The manufacturer’s service center has declined to provide towing or a loaner or rental vehicle while the safety defects are being investigated, which will take about 30 days.

On November 8, my 2024 Model Y suddenly came to a complete stop from about 40 mph while I was driving with no cruise control or autopilot active. This was extremely dangerous — my [xxx] was in the car, and we were lucky no one was behind us. It put myself, my child, and others in the absolute risk of collision and injury. When I contacted the service center they said it sometimes happened due to "shadows" or "sun". They refused to run a diagnostic on the car for free and wanted me to pay for it. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

While driving ~40 mph with no autopilot or cruise control active, my 2024 Model Y suddenly braked itself from 40 ? 0 mph for no reason. The road ahead was clear. I did not touch the brake. My 3-year-old was in the car. We were nearly rear-ended and could have been seriously injured. When I went to Tesla service, the manager insisted I must pay a $270 diagnostic fee unless they “find a problem,” while also saying the incident was likely caused by “shadows. ” this makes me believe they will simply say “no issue found” and charge me despite this being a severe safety malfunction. When I reached out to Tesla customer support, they stated it was a known issue. This poses a serious risk of rear-end collisions, injuries, or fatality, and Tesla is not addressing it.

I was trying to park my vehicle on a normal street and Tesla's automatic emergency braking app_w050 kicks in and aggressively brake when I try to parallel park.

On October 2, my Model Y battery was replaced with a defective cell. Tesla service center replaced the battery. The vehicle could not charge or operate, making it unable to be driven. Today, November 2, while driving my car, my Tesla abs system and other battery components experienced total failure while driving. For a brief period of time, I was unable to brake completely and my vehicle felt like it was skidding. At the time this occurred, my 1 year old daughter and pregnant wife were in the vehicle. This could have been much worse.