Tesla Model Y Forward Collision Avoidance Problems
Owners have filed 1,957 complaints with NHTSA about forward collision avoidance problems on the Tesla Model Y across 7 model years. The 2021 model year has the most (582). The words owners use most often: “cruise control” (44% of reports).
- 1,957forward collision avoidance complaints
- —median miles at failure
- 219mention a crash
- 63mention an injury
- 6related recalls
- 81%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Cruise control: mentioned in 865 of 1,957 complaints (44%)
- Phantom braking: mentioned in 459 of 1,957 complaints (23%)
- Full self: mentioned in 225 of 1,957 complaints (11%)
- Auto pilot: mentioned in 125 of 1,957 complaints (6%)
At what mileage do forward collision avoidance problems happen?
Based on 80 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 1,957 complaints, 219 mention a crash, 8 a fire, 63 an injury.
Tesla Model Y forward collision avoidance complaints by model year
| Model year | Forward Collision Avoidance complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Model Y | 122 | 30% | 6,551 |
| 2025 Model Y | 48 | 46% | — |
| 2024 Model Y | 124 | 38% | 45,000 |
| 2023 Model Y | 478 | 41% | 3,000 |
| 2022 Model Y | 496 | 57% | 3,500 |
| 2021 Model Y | 582 | 53% | 3,500 |
| 2020 Model Y | 107 | 38% | 3,500 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (6)
Forward collision avoidance: warnings:external/pedestrian alert; electrical system:software
Model years: 2020, 2021, 2022
Problem: Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2013, 2018-2021 Model S, 2020-2021 Model X, 2018-2022 Model 3, and 2020-2022 Model Y vehicles. A factory reset muted the Pedestrian Warning System (PWS) sounds. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 141, "Minimum Sound Requirements for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles."
Risk: Pedestrians may be unaware of an approaching vehicle if the PWS sounds are muted, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Tesla released an over-the-air (OTA) software update, release 2023.44.30.14, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 27, 2024. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-24-00-006.
Forward collision avoidance: sensing system: camera
Model years: 2023
Problem: Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2023 Model S, Model X, and Model Y vehicles. The forward-facing camera may be misaligned, causing some of the active safety features such as emergency braking, forward collision warning, and lane assist to become unavailable without alerting the driver.
Risk: Safety features that are unavailable without any warning to the driver may increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Tesla Service will inspect and adjust the pitch angle, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 12, 2023. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-23-17-006.
Forward collision avoidance: automatic emergency braking; electrical system:adas:driver monitoring:camera/sensor; lane departure: lane keep: automatic steering
Model years: 2021
Problem: Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Model 3 and 2021 Model Y vehicles. The fisheye and narrow camera cable terminals were incorrectly installed in the cable harness connector, resulting in swapped camera views.
Risk: Swapped camera views can prevent the vehicle's cameras from detecting crossing objects and high-curvature lane lines, impairing the Autosteer and Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) performance, and increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Tesla Service will correct the swapped terminals and recalibrate the cameras, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 8, 2022. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-22-17-007.
Electrical system:software; forward collision avoidance: warnings:external/pedestrian alert
Model years: 2020, 2021, 2022
Problem: Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Model Y, Model X, Model S, and 2017-2022 Model 3 vehicles. The Boombox function allows sounds to be played through an external speaker while the vehicle is in motion, which may obscure the Pedestrian Warning System (PWS) sounds. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 141, "Minimum Sound Requirements for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles."
Risk: Pedestrians may be unaware of an approaching vehicle if the PWS sounds are obscured, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Tesla will perform an over-the-air (OTA) software update that will disable the Boombox functionality when the vehicle is in Drive, Neutral and Reverse modes, including Summon and Smart Summon, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 6, 2022. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-22-00-003. Note: This recall supersedes recall 22V-063. Vehicles configured with Summon or Smart Summon and already remedied under 22V-063 will need to have the new remedy software installed.
Forward collision avoidance: warnings:external/pedestrian alert; electrical system:software
Model years: 2020, 2021, 2022
Problem: Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Model S, Model X, Model Y, and 2017-2022 Model 3 vehicles. The Boombox function allows sounds to be played through an external speaker while the vehicle is in motion, which may obscure the Pedestrian Warning System (PWS) sounds. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 141, "Minimum Sound Requirements for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles."
Risk: Pedestrians may be unaware of an approaching vehicle if the PWS sounds are obscured, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Tesla will perform an over-the-air (OTA) software update that will disable the Boombox functionality when the vehicle is in Drive, Neutral and Reverse modes, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed April 5, 2022. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-22-00-003. Note: This recall has been superseded by Recall 22V-235. Tesla's number for the new recall is SB-22-00-003.
Forward collision avoidance: sensing system: camera; forward collision avoidance:software; forward collision avoidance: automatic emergency braking; forward collision avoidance: warnings
Model years: 2020, 2021
Problem: Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2017-2021 Model S, Model 3, Model X, and 2020-2021 Model Y vehicles operating software version 2021.36.5.2. A communication error may cause false forward-collision warning (FCW) or unexpected activation of the automatic emergency brake (AEB) system.
Risk: Unexpected activation of the AEB system may cause the car to stop suddenly, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Tesla Service has released an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. The recall began October 25, 2021. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-21-00-004.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
While driving my Tesla on FSD mode, my Tesla had critical error and warn me to take over. My navigation and GPS froze. I did several reboot and power cycle and nothing worked. I reach out to Tesla and they stated that I will need a new computer hardware replacement. My Tesla was working fine until…
The speed limit displayed to the driver is frequently incorrect. I believe this is a problem with all Teslas. Speaking as an aerospace engineer- as a rule it is better to provide no information to the pilot/driver than wrong information. FAA would never tolerate faulty instrumentation in an…
On XXX, I was involved in a collision in [XXX], while manually driving my 2022 Tesla Model Y (VIN: [XXX]). Neither Full Self-Driving (FSD) nor Autopilot was engaged. I was making a right turn at a red traffic signal while another vehicle was making a U-turn. My Tesla collided with the…
While driving on Colorado state highways with Traffic-Aware Cruise Control (and/or Autopilot) engaged, the vehicle repeatedly and unexpectedly decelerates rapidly from highway speeds of 75â80 mph down to approximately 45 mph. This occurs with no vehicles, obstacles, or other hazards visible ahead…
i was driving Tesla in full self driving and when it parked halfway in the garage and as soon as tried to take control It dashed into my garage inner walls and went through it within a fraction of a second. It was out of control.
Frequently asked questions
Do all Tesla Model Ys have forward collision avoidance problems?
No. NHTSA has 1,957 owner complaints about forward collision avoidance for the Tesla Model Y. Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the Tesla Model Y forward collision avoidance?
Yes: 6 safety recalls list forward collision avoidance. Check your VIN on NHTSA.gov to see whether the fix was done on your car.
What do owners say about forward collision avoidance problems on the Tesla Model Y?
The most frequent phrase is “cruise control”, in 865 of 1,957 complaints, followed by “phantom braking” (459).
Other Tesla Model Y problems
- Vehicle Speed Control problems (585)
- Service Brakes problems (561)
- Electrical System problems (557)
- Steering problems (473)
- Lane Departure problems (377)
- Suspension problems (318)
- Back Over Prevention problems (193)
- Visibility/wiper problems (170)
See all Tesla Model Y problems.