Complaint volume
1019 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2021 Tesla Model Y Complaints
1019 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2021 Tesla Model Y, grouped by component category.
1019 Total complaints
85 Crash reports
6 Fire reports
22 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are forward collision avoidance, vehicle speed control,forward collision avoidance, service brakes,forward collision avoidance. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 85 crash reports, 6 fire reports, 22 injury reports, and 4 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 98 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 16,683 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to forward collision avoidance, vehicle speed control,forward collision avoidance, service brakes,forward collision avoidance?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2021 Tesla Model Y?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2021 Tesla Model Y
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2021 Tesla Model Y complaints?
85 Crash
6 Fire
22 Injury
4 Fatality
63 Towed
14 Medical attention
What are the most common 2021 Tesla Model Y complaint categories?
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 280
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 72
SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 70
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 64
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 44
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 34
SUSPENSION 30
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE 29
STEERING 26
VISIBILITY/WIPER 19
1,019 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE,BACK OVER PREVENTION | I started a drive from my house. I entered a destination into the NAV system, it plotted a route. I then proceeded to start my drive. When I tried to backup, the backup cameras did not display any video, I waited over 1 minute and there was still no video. I then proceeded with my drive. The car would not start the cruise control, autopilot or FSD functions. Whenever I tried to engage the systems the car would state that they are unavailable. At this time, I also noticed that the NAV system was not updating the display, it continued to display the same image that showed that I was at home in the driveway. After 15 minutes, I pulled into a parking lot to video the problem. First, I put the car in reverse and recorded that the cameras did not display video for over 30 seconds, I then started to drive and recorded that the navigation display was not updating. The display that usually has the lane markings and displays the other vehicles was also not working, there was no information other than a picture of my car with a totally blank gray area around it. I have contacted Tesla about the problem, but they keep saying that they don't detect any problem with the car. I sent them the video and am waiting to hear back from them. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Phantom braking on 4-lane highway with no other vehicles near. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Vehicle was driving with auto steer enabled at 65 mph on freeway and braked unexpectedly and unnecessarily 3 times within a few minutes. Each time it occurred, I canceled auto steer and re-engaged. At no time were any obstructions or objects visible in front of the vehicle, and at no time did any warning lights or messages appear, the car simply braked without notice. Safety was at risk as cars behind me were traveling closely and were not expecting my car to brake suddenly, although I responded quickly enough to prevent further braking and accelerated out of danger. I have researched "phantom braking" and it seems this incident is exactly what was described in those reports. The car has not been inspected since the incident. I am hesitant to use auto steer since I do not trust that the cameras are adequately detecting what's in front of the vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Adaptive cruise control has failed many times. Recently had adaptive cruise control set at 75 mph on interstate. With no warning, the car instantly slowed to 55 mph. If a car would have been behind me I would have been rear-ended. Or worse, if someone behind me thought I was intentionally braking hard or "squating" they could become angry and instigate a road rage incident. The car provided zero warning before it braked. The car has not been inspected yet. Yes, the car is available for inspection. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | When in autopilor mode (cruise controll) the vehicle ocassionally brakes for no known reason (phantom braking). This usually happens at the crest of hill if there is a guard rail. or if there is a low overpass overhead. I have reported this before (it is an ongoing problem) and discuss with Tesla representatives who reply that the car will "learn" to avoid this behavior. It is an obvious collision danger if someone is following closely. On 09/27/2022 this occured 8-10 times during a 600 mile trip | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 5YJYGDEE2MF161659 VIN 2021 Tesla Model Y AWD with basis cruise control This last weekend we drove from our home in Arroyo Grande CA to the Mammoth Lakes area. Enroute, we experienced a number of unneeded emergency braking events while on the highways at speed (65-72 mph). While this happened about a dozen time, 5-6 of them were significant slow downs and could have caused us to be rear ended. In none of these events was there any reason for the emergency braking. One happened when another car was approaching from the rear quickly to pass. These events led us to stop using the cruise control entirely for the last 2 hours of our trip home. I have not yet contacted Tesla about this which I will be doing right after I submit this report. Prior to this, the adaptive cruise control had functioned normally with very few unexpected emergency braking events in the last year or so. We did disable the feature of “automatic emergency breaking” but that had no effect at all. This is a serious issue that need to be addressed immediately. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Using normal cruise control in the highway, my car brakes randomly and suddenly. This phantom braking has happened over 10 times in the past two weeks! It's very dangerous. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | My Tesla model Y has been braking for no apparent reason when using the adaptive cruise control. Sometimes there may be a car coming in the opposite direction, but most times there is no other cars within miles. Several times the braking has been extremely aggressive causing me to have to hit the accelerator hard to avoid somebody behind me running into me. This has happened many times on long,straight, flat roads in the middle of the Arizona desert. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | SUSPENSION | The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the local dealer for a wheel alignment, and at that time he was informed that the lower control link subframe needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact then stated that while his wife was making a right turn, the front passenger’s side control arm and wheel detached from the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The independent mechanic diagnosed the vehicle and stated that the two control arm bolts needed to be replaced. The contact was informed that the vehicle needed to be taken to the dealer. The vehicle was then towed to the local dealer, who confirmed the independent mechanic’s diagnosis; however, the contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V835000 (Suspension) as a possible solution to the failure; however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 32,386. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 32,386 |
| Sep 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The vehicle brakes for no apparent reason without any other vehicles in near vicinity, both in adaptive cruse control and autopilot. This has improved with updates, but on a recent trip we experience six phantom breaking events on interstate travel. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Vehicle is experiencing “phantom braking”. Has happened dozens of times. I have contacted Tesla a few times regarding this, and they downplay everything. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While car was on cruise control. The car went off cruise control without intervention or warning and slowed down quite abruptly. This occurred about 4 times in a 4 hour period while going interstate speeds. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Tesla's Traffic-Aware Cruise Control system has malfunctioned on my vehicle several times. It will often brake hard at high speeds despite there being no vehicle or object in front of me. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | LANE DEPARTURE | B pillar cameras have a known water intrusion issue rendering the camera inoperable and compromising the safety features of the vehicle. Tesla refuses to remedy this known design flaw. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | Multiple incidences of phantom braking while using cruise control/autopilot (not full self driving) traveling to/from Sacramento, CA and Park City, Utah on August 13th and 19th. This has happened previously while traveling to/from Sacramento, CA and Napa, CA. Unexpected hard braking on the highway at speeds of 55-85 mph) for no apparent reason is a hazard to the driver/passenger as well as any nearby vehicles. It causes undue fright, motion sickness, whiplash, and potential accidents. I contacted Tesla and they evaluated the car remotely and said they found nothing wrong. Yes, the car is available anytime for an inspection. No, the car or components have not been inspected by anyone, except as noted above by Tesla's service department. There were no warning lights/messages. This has been a problem for at least 6 months. It just became more evideent on our trip to/from Utah. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while her husband was driving approximately 75 MPH with the cruise control activated, the vehicle experienced phantom braking. The vehicle inadvertently slowed down to 30 MPH. The contact disengaged the cruise control and the self-driving feature also disengaged simultaneously. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The Service Center diagnosed the vehicle with a software failure however, there was no current fix. The failure mileage was 10,043. | Crash: No Fire: No | 10,043 |
| Sep 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Traveling at 80 MPH using autopilot on an open freeway when suddenly a phantom braking event occurred and slows us down to 50 MPH in 5 seconds. There were no objects on the freeway and the closest car in our lane was at least one mile in front of us. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I was driving my Tesla Model Y using “navigation with autopilot” on 9/4/22, from San Francisco to San Jose. The vehicle suddenly stopped while traveling at high speed after crossing “green” metering light in the ramp from 237 to 880S. The vehicle behind had to make a sudden stop, barely avoiding a rear end collision. This is the 4th time I have experienced this “phantom braking” while traveling at high speed on freeways. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | During a drive on 09/06/222 the car had 3 instances of phantom emergency braking while using autopilot. All the times there were no cars around the Tesla, the stop was a hard brake that jerked passengers around as well as shifting cargo. This has happened periodically before but now it is become common on every drive. Two of these instances occurred with in minutes of each other. The other happened later in the drive after stopping to charge. A hard stop like these could cause a serious accident if someone is following to close. These hard brakes could also cause whiplash style injuries, seatbelt abrasions, or bruises to passengers. There were no warnings, messages or sysmptoms prior to the issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated on two separate occasions while idled in a parked position and the brake pedal depressed, he shifted into reverse position and the vehicle inadvertently lunged forward approximately 5ft without acceleration. The vehicle then performed as normal. The contact then stated that on a separate occasion while idled in a parked position and the brake pedal depressed, he shifted into drive without the accelerator pedal depressed and the vehicle lunged forward 15 ft without warning. As a result, the contact crashed into a restaurant window. No warning lights was illuminated. No medical attention was required. A police report was filed. The vehicle was currently being towed to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | 15,000 |
| Aug 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | During daylight hours when the autopilot is engaged at normal highway speeds - the Tesla brakes engage and quickly slow down the car. It occurs on long straight roads with no traffic. This appears to be a "phantom braking" issue that is causing my car to suddenly brake for no reason. There are never any cars around when this occurs-- just long clear roads. This can be very dangerous. Last known occurrences were on Aug 13 at 8:30a and 10:29a of this year. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I have experience phantom braking on my Model Y many times when I used FSD(full self drive) on the freeway. The car just randomly slows down / decelerates abruptly even if there are no obstacles or other cars in front. This results in a serious situation when the vehicle behind may ram into you causing a fatal accident. I have always reported this issue using voice control REPORT BUG and got acknowledgement saying THANKS FOR THE FEEDBACK. But I have never heard from Tesla that they have fixed or are fixing it. This is repeated happening every time I use FSD on freeway even as of last week (week of Aug 21, 2022)/ | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Frequent, random, phantom braking using cruise control. Informed Tesla with times +/- one minute. Sometimes the braking was very hard and could cause a rear-end collision (at highway speeds). Always occurred with no warning and highly variable conditions (light, or hills, or overpasses, and then apparently nothing). I called Tesla and technician said overpasses were a problem. Vehicle and components have not been checked. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I had unexpected and sudden braking while using Tesla autopilot while in TAC mode or adaptive cruise control. Not Autopilot that steers and keeps you in the lane and not Full self driving, my car does not have FSD. I had 5 or 6 incidents while heading West on I 10 towards Yuma on I 8. There was no rhyme or obvious reason for the braking. No one in front of me or behind me. The amount of braking over the separate incidents was different each time. On the way back to Tucson it happened another 5 or 6 times. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Tesla Autopilot (Adaptive Cruise Control) rarely recognizes parked vehicles or obstructions beside the driving lane (right or left side) based on the display console driving environment display. Bicyclist, pedestrians, and other large roadside obstructions are also rarely recognized. Might explain the recent Tesla collisions with stopped emergency vehicles while in Autopilot mode. Don’t know if Teslas recent elimination of radar sensing made this problem worst or not. This failure to recognize nearby obstructions happens daily. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |