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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2024 | SEAT BELTS | Front Passenger Safety Restraint System Fault There have been hundreds of people if not thousands who are reporting this common issue on various forms online and its a very common issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | Power was lost completely while car was on the road, breaks stop working and unable to stop. Driver had to go off road to prevent collision and road a accident. Towed to Tesla center. Diagnosis is “internal short” but did not elaborate. No explanation and answer why break did not work. External damage due to accident was not covered. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | Tesla FSD consistently ignores temporary lane closures, and will cheerfully try to drive over the barrier poles. The locale is the San Diego Pure Water Project construction zones. They set up lane closures that change every week or so. They use a line of red poles along the middle of the road to block off a lane and direct both lanes of traffic into one lane. Sometimes there is also a large CLOSED sign in the middle of the closed lane. Tesla never sees the red poles and often does not see the CLOSED sign. I attach several photos each showing both the Tesla screen and reality in the same image. (Unless Tesla fixes this soon) I can send you lots more photos if you wish. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS | I recently saw there was a recall update issued by Tesla regarding the seatbelt alert. My driver seat does not sense I’m in the seat, and allows me to drive with out a belt on. Even if they send an update to my car, I won’t be alerted. Someone could use the lack of sensor to not remain in their seat. Inflatable doll with sunglasses could take my spot. My question is, is this included in the recall regarding the seat belt notification when not buckled since it’s part of the safety restraint system? | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | SUSPENSION | Today the “control arm” and “axel” suddenly broke and stopped my car. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked and attempting to open the rear passenger’s side door, the door failed to open from the outside. The contact attempted to use the emergency release and the door failed to open. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The contact reached out to the manufacturer. The manufacturer advised the contact there was no urgency in getting the failure repaired. The contact was informed by the manufacturer where the emergency release button was in the vehicle in the door behind the speaker however, the contact was unable to access the button. The contact was advised to contact the nearest Service Center for the vehicle to be inspected. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 53,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 53,000 |
| Jun 2024 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | The automated wipers will stop working when it is raining making it very difficult to see the road and traffic, and they will start working when the windshield is dry. The speed that the wipers work at is also inconsistent - speeding up and slowing down even though the rate of precipitation has not changed. This happens randomly, and after learning that other Tesla Y owners have also had this happen to them, I suspect that this is a common issue in the Tesla Y’s wiper system / software. This has been ongoing since we bought our car in Nov 2021. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | I was trapped in my car when the 12V starter battery died without warning and everything in the car shut down. I was very fortunate that I had my cell phone with me to call my friend who had just left. However, he was unable to help me open the car from the outside. I spent several minutes going through several questions in an attempt to make an emergency request for roadside assistance on the Tesla app in hopes they could talk me through getting out. I finally received a text stating my request was 'being reviewed'! I have claustrophobia so by now I'm not breathing comfortably. I responded that I was trapped in my car and needed immediate help. They responded telling me where an emergency release was. A release which every Tesla owner that I know has told me they had NO knowledge of. When I was towed to Tesla, the service adviser told me ' claustrophobic' people probably shouldn't buy a Tesla! Well... he was partially correct...only I would go further to say 'nobody' should be a Tesla... it is a death trap. What if I had put my 3 year old grandchild in her car seat and shut the door to get in the driver side? She would not be able to pull an emergency lever! I was sitting on a fully charged Lithium-Ion battery yet I was unable to open a door...so how about a safety bypass to this battery ?? Seems to me the default with a dead battery should be that the doors unlock...not lock! This is certainly NOT a 'smart' car....it is a potential death trap for which there are countless other reports in the news, yet Tesla and your organization has yet to take action. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Full self driving is not recognizing traffic signals. This results in the vehicle proceeding through red lights, and stopping at green lights. Without properly seeing/processing traffic signals, it approaches every intersection as if there are no traffic lights. Service center has had the car twice, without being able to remedy the problem. The 3rd appointment was cancelled by Tesla. I have called the corporate office and spoken with a service rep. He was unable to help provide resolution, saying only that my local rep would reach out. I have not been contacted. I've tried every other possible solution. Tesla doesn't want to fix it, or even acknowledge the problem, even though they've done a test drive with me and seen the issue with their own eyes. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY,ENGINE | The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while driving 20–45 MPH on a six-lane highway, the contact attempted a hard acceleration, and there was an abnormal banging sound heard. The battery was disconnected. The pyrotechnic fuse went into failure mode. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle slowed down, pulsated, and then shut down. The hazard lights, steering, and brake system became inoperable. The brake pedal was depressed to stop the vehicle from rolling. Additionally, while closing the driver's side door, the glass window fractured. The local dealer was contacted and retrieved a system failure with the 12-volt battery. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 58,044. | Crash: No Fire: No | 58,044 |
| May 2024 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Tesla removed the ability to use only cruise control, with adaptive following distance, and have forced the only option to now use full self driving instead (with a recent soft-ware update). I do NOT feel safe using full self driving (even supervised) and believe Tesla is being unsafe forcing full self driving use. We used to be able to just use cruise control-with adaptive following distance-a driving option in all other recent cars!!! , but cannot do that now in Tesla? Why would a company take away what I consider to be a safer option?? This is not an improvement (but a forced help-Tesla-improve-it’s-unsafe-full self-driving-software!) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2024 | STEERING,POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Steering disabled due to software update resulting in vehicle undriviable and having to be towed from driveway Tesla requiring customer to pay for hardware replacement due to software update failure costing $2,921.24 for the replacement, out of pocket. Required replacement of steering Rack (Dual Motor) Part - Steering Gear Left Hand Drive (1044832-00-A) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Yes, available for inspection Broken glass injury potential Not reproduced Not inspected yet No warning Spontaneous breakage. On the morning of the 9th, went to garage to leave for work and fracture was present. This was not present when arriving home the previous evening. I work 1.4 miles from home and travel surface streets with speed limit of 45MPH | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,LANE DEPARTURE | Lane departure warnings activate briefly when driving straight ahead. Sometimes results in disablement of lane departure assistance feature. Tesla has attempted several repair attempts but issue persists: Calibrate radar Replace steering rack Correct steering angle | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2024 | STEERING | while driving on the NJ Turnpike I heard a large "pop" noise. Shortly after as I was on the Exit 7A exit ramp I lost all power steering. I nearly hit the guardrail before the car came to a complete stop. I was able to maneuver the car off the exit ramp and pulled over. The was an error message appeared on the screen indicating "power steering reduced." It wasn't reduced it was non-existent. The car was flat bedded to the Tesla service center and a week later the car repair was completed. The service center indicated it was the "steering rack" broke. Although I don't know exactly what that means, even the service center admitted that this failure should not have occurred. The car is 2 1/2 years old with 90k miles. It is out of warranty so i was responsible for payment. The reason for my complaint is that a catastrophic failure in the steering rack should not happen on a 2 1/2 year old car. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2024 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Please look up my Facebook post for public safety awareness. All the details are explained [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2024 | SUSPENSION | Squeaking sound at low speeds, and turning. Tesla advised the problem is the suspension and control arms. Stated it is a safety issue. Repair cost about $1900. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2024 | POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | The main screen on my Tesla Model Y flickers while driving, as well as charging. I have a video of it happening, if you slow the video down it completely shuts the screen down for a millisecond and then turns back on. I have sent this video to Tesla, as well as Tesla technicians has confirmed the issue happening when they had the vehicle. I have had the vehicle into Tesla 3 separate times for service, they don't know how to fix the issue and keep telling me to wait. I have been dealing with this issue since January 2024 and am tired of waiting and putting my safety at risk. I feel that I have been more than patient with them and now I feel that they are now blowing me off. They don't feel that it is a safety concern even considering that the display screen went out while driving 70 mph, for 13 miles and I couldn't get it to turn back on. Aditionally the side cameras on the vehicle intermittently go out. There is no warnings or symptoms prior to it happening it just happens. I have 29 times documented of it happening to me. I have requested a buyback which was denied as well as a loaner from Tesla until they can fix the issue, yet they denied that as well. It seems that Tesla does not care about the safety of me and I want this issue to be investigated. I have the video of the Screen flickering reach out to me to get it since I cant post it in the place below. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Vehicle not acting safely, speeding up to pass stopped school bus with stop sign out and yellow lights flashing. This is a generic VIN as it applies to the current software on all FSD cars. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2024 | SUSPENSION | Cracked suspension way as described by Tesla service: Verified customers concern right away without driving vehicle. Inspected suspension and found that the ball joints on the upper control arm are making the noise. Inspected entire front end and found the the compliance and lateral links have cracked bushings. Replaced upper control arms, both lateral links and both compliance links. Test drove vehicle and verified that the noise is now gone. Performed four wheel alignment after repairs. Cost $2000 to repair. Ridiculous that these are failing so early in the life of the car. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2024 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Since December when Tesla did their software update to supposedly make my car safer, I have been BURIED in warnings to keep my hands on the steering wheel and my eyes on the road. It seems like every 25-30 seconds, if I even glance over at the speedometer, I get a red "keep your hands on the steering wheel" / "Pay attention" warning. This is ridiculous. These distracting notifications could cause an accident. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2024 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | We Americans need you to stop auto manufacturers from using blinding headlights on their cars. This will cause accidents and you will be liable for allowing this to begin with. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2024 | STEERING | Loss of steering control, frequently accompanied by driver-facing messages indicating that power steering assist is reduced or disabled. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2024 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | March 31 I received an email from Tesla that I had been selected to participate in a free Full Self Driving (FSD) trial. I have no interest in FSD, and there was no way to opt out of this trial. At some point FSD was downloaded on to my Model Y as part of a regular software update. I was not given the opportunity to accept or refuse this particular feature. While both of these events feel wrong to me, it did not rise to the level of reporting to NHTSA until I realized Tesla had also ENABLED FSD on my car. In other words they switched my configuration from Auto Pilot to Full Self Drive, presumably as part of the software update that downloaded the software on to my vehicle. One could argue that because two features on my screen were different I was able to figure out my configuration had changed, and manually change it back. One could also argue that not everyone would sort this out, and the next time they pulled the stalk down to engage cruise control they would unknowingly engage FSD. And that is not OK. I find the timing of all of this ironic given Tesla just settled out of court on a fatality related to their vastly overhyped FSD. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES | The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving at low speeds when making a J-turn beside the contact's steep driveway, the vehicle crashed into the curb then began to roll down the steep hill, and crashed into a tree. The contact stated that the brake pedal was depressed, however, the vehicle continued to roll. No air bags were deployed and no injuries were sustained. The vehicle was taken to the repair shop where the headlight assembly, the hood, and the full front assembly of the vehicle were replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 400. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | 400 |