Complaint volume
827 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
827 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2022 Tesla Model Y, grouped by component category.
Buyer interpretation
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
827 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
The most common categories are forward collision avoidance, vehicle speed control,forward collision avoidance, unknown or other. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Enriched records include 80 crash reports, 8 fire reports, 35 injury reports, and 3 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage is available on 73 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 16,603 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
827 total complaints on record
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | On at least 4 occasions, April 4th 2022 and August 6th 2022 to be precise, I was traveling in my Model Y at highway speeds using Full Self Driving when my car suddenly and without warning decelerated and sharply steered out of the lane causing me to have to forcefully intervene to retain control of the car. On the April 4th date there were no cars or traffic around, the incident just happened, on the August 6th incident I was on 495 in fairly heavy traffic and was afraid that I would cause an accident because of the sudden and violent nature of the braking and turning of the car. The other incidents were also at traffic speeds in light traffic. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | My husband took ownership of a brand new Tesla Y on Saturday 18 June from the Tesla Loveland dealership in Colorado. In less than 2 months of receiving the car, the electrical system ‘totally failed and ‘malfunctioned’ 3 times, while driving on busy roads/highways which placed my family’s life and safety at high risk of injury and death from a potential head on collision and crash from vehicles driving behind. The 3rd and most recent ‘malfunction’ occurred on Saturday 6 August at 12.46pm when (with no warning from the car’s warning or emergency system) vibrated aggressively before completely stopping in the middle lane of a busy road. This potentially fatal ‘malfunction of the cars electrical system’ was on one of Boulder’s busiest roads. I had turned onto a busy road (so was traveling at a very low speed) when the car started vibrating very loudly and stopped. There was no safety warning by the car nor any time to drive the car to the side of the road. This ‘malfunction’ and total outage put my life and my children’s lives at risk as we were trapped in a 4-lane carriage way and risked our safety to avoid oncoming traffic to get to safety. My husband called the police who created a safety barrier around the car while a tow truck arrived to tow the car to Tesla in Loveland Colorado. The incident put my family’s life at risk including my two young children (aged 8 and 6) who were passengers in the back seat. The first ‘electrical malfunction’ occurred on Thursday July 14 at 9.30pm when the car’s electrical system totally malfunctioned and stopped on a busy road. The car was towed to Tesla in Loveland. Several days later when Tesla technicians advised the problems were fixed and arranged for a Tesla technician to drive to us, the car malfunctioned and stopped on a busy road while the Tesla driver was in the car. It’s was towed again back to the dealership. This car is a lemon, unroadworthy and poses a death risk. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | Tesla cameras are equipped with internal cameras intended to monitor driver attentiveness while using “Autopilot” features. The internal monitoring can be bypassed by simply covering the camera. This reduces the attentiveness checks and can be a danger as drivers will use autopilot functionality without proper attention on the road. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Multiple times while driving across I-70 through Kansas, my car suddenly broke and slowed down at least 10 mph for no reason. There was nothing in the road. One time it even identified a mile marker as a motorcycle. I was almost rearended when it hard broke three times in a row and threw myself and my children forward forcefully. I realize this is an issue under investigation, but until people like myself continue to complain and wonderful folks like you force Tesla to make changes, it is going to continue to be an issue. It's not safe. Thankfully I WAS in the middle of Kansas every time and there was no one around (except for the above mentioned incident where the van behind me was gracious enough to pass and could clearly tell I was having difficulty with the car). If this happened in a crowded area, I for sure would be in a high speed collision. After it happened on my outbound trip, I tried to make note of it on my trip home: what was around me, what the camera was "seeing" on the screen, etc. I noted already the motorcycle instead of a sign. It also seemed to have real difficulty when I could see a mirage and reflections (as it was over 100 degrees out) but I genuinely don't know if cameras can see mirages or if that is only human eyes. Thanks for your help in pursuing the issue! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | We are on a cross country trip on open highway and it randomly applies the breaks hard at times for no apparent reason. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I took delivery of a Tesla Y in February 2022. About a half dozen times since, I've been driving on the highway using cruise control/auto pilot and the car will randomly slam on it's brakes, so hard that loose objects in the car are flying to the front. There was no warning prior or any of these incidents. Thankfully I have not had cars directly behind me when this occurred...if there had been someone behind me they would have absolutely hit me. I have not yet contacted Tesla. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | The "advanced autopilot" feature is extremely dangerous in certain conditions especially construction zones, if a bug is on the windshield, while it is raining or night time without street lamps. I purchased this car as a full time rideshare driver for nearly $100,000 after driving the car for less than 1 month the car has terrified myself, my passengers and my pregnant wife and luckily hasn't killed any innocent bystanders, yet. While in autopilot the car will frequently 'phantom brake' when there is literally no vehicles in front of it, quickly reducing speed from 70mph down to 40mph. This most recent time 7/28/2022 I had a garbage truck like vehicle behind me but thank God I have excellent reaction time and canceled the autopilot and smashed the accelerator just in time before causing a pileup on the expressway. The car constantly misreads speed limit and street signs and will confuse the SR46 little sign for a speed limit sign and slam on the brakes from 65mph down to 46mph. Just yesterday the car decided to go in the middle of the two lane highway and slam on the brakes in the middle of the highway, twice, which terrified my wife and I caught on my 3rd party dash cam. I have tried to reach out to 3 Tesla emails and even SpaceX but I receive no response, big surprise. Additionally I'm smarter than the average bear and use a 3rd party GPS miles tracking app on my iPhone called Everlance which when I've cross referenced with my Tesla app about driving range its not even remotely close to their 303 mile range. I am proving a 33% discrepancy between their claim of mileage and what the car is actually achieving on the road. For example I charge at home to the recommended 90% charge of 269 miles, drive 99.1 miles over about 4 hours and get back home with 80 miles range. 269 - 99.1=169.9 miles but with only 80 miles on the battery that's actually less than half what it should be. I paid $6,000 for FSD I never received and have requested a refund without a response. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | As I was pulling into my driveway with the autopilot completely OFF the car started to accelerate hard on its own which could have resulted in an accident had I not been ready for it. Also unrelated to the previous statement; Driving along at 37 mph with the autopilot on, the car slammed on the brakes for no apparent reason nearly resulting in a rear end collision to my car. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | We have owned the car approximately 2 weeks and have had 3 episodes of inappropriate activation of emergency braking. The first two were minor slowing of the vehicle when traveling on interstate highway when the system was activated by dips in the road. The third involved a parked pickup truck on the shoulder of the outside curve of a road - resulting in aggressive braking of our vehicle. Frightening. Thankfully there was no closely trailing vehicle. We have inactivated the system, notified Tesla, and scheduled a service appointment. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While using cruise control (Traffic-Aware Cruise Control) on a recent road trip in our Tesla Model Y, the car unexpectedly and for no apparent reason, abruptly reduced speed. Our car is available for inspection upon request. Our safety and that of others was put at risk as a result of this unexpected reduction in speed while travelling on the highway. An accident could have occurred if cars travelling behind us did not similarly reduce speed to avoid a collision. The problem has occurred on a number of occasions where there was no apparent reason for the car to rapidly reduce speed. It has not been confirmed by a service center. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer or others. It is a known problem with the 2022 Model Ys based on a published inquiry by the NHTSA (ref: https://electrek.co/2022/06/03/tesla-respond-increase-phantom-braking-complaints/). There were no warning lamps or indicators prior to the unexpected braking event. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Phantom braking occurs very frequently and the dealerships tell me there’s nothing that they can do. We almost got rear ended on a 65 mph highway because of one instance but it happens on a daily basis if using cruise control. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while her husband was driving 65 MPH with cruise control activated, the vehicle inadvertently stopped without driver input. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The driver was able to continue driving to his destination. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted., The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 3,550. | Crash: No Fire: No | 3,550 |
| Jul 2022 | BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | In accelerating of itself, both my own life and that of a potential bystander were in danger. I had no time to react to the sudden acceleration. This has never happened to me in over fifty years of driving and it was very obviously the result of a car malfunction. In addition, the automatic emergency braking function failed. There were no previous messages, symptoms, or signs. The car has been at the shop for three months. The dealer has failed to give us any feedback as to why the accident happened. All they have said is that they don't have the parts that they need to change. It was only after two and half months that they reached out to me. During one of my visits, one of the dealer's service representatives took me aside to inform me that she could not divulge any information about the causes of the accident, and that my case was a “legal one”. I still don't know what any of this means. In addition to all this, the pen drive located inside the glove compartment of the vehicle only has two days of picture and video information, and the file of the day of the accident is empty, which is extremely suspicious. I suffered burns from the airbag, and my cervical region was affected. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | On my first long road trip using Tesla's Traffic Aware Cruise Control (TACC), I experienced Phantom Breaking (PB) issues. Some of these PB's were mild some with very aggressive responses. I was using just the TACC part of Auto Pilot, sometimes with vehicles near me, sometimes not. After 5 or so of these events in 300 miles or so, with one event early on my return trip, I stopped using all of Auto Pilot. The vehicle is new with no other issues. Software package 2022.20.6 | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE | Front trunk (hood) flew open while driving at approximately 40mph. The front trunk lid/hood opened completely and smashed into the windshield, completely blocking driver visibility and breaking the glass. It is unclear as to how the front trunk became unlocked, but in the event it was unlocked while the car was in park, the car should not have been able to shift into gear. Tesla Model Y's Owners Manual states: "If the front trunk is not closed, a message displays on the touchscreen that you cannot shift the vehicle out of Park until the front trunk is securely closed (see Park)." Additionally, the Owners Manual states: "Model Y will not shift out of Park if the front trunk is not securely shut" In the event the trunk was open prior to driving, the car should not have been able to shift out of Park. Or, if the trunk opened while driving, there was a latch or electrical problem. Tesla's representative reviewed the incident log from the vehicle and stated that an ignore button was pressed on screen, once the vehicle indicated that the front trunk was open. Quickly pressing a button while driving to a safe place to pull over is reasonable. But, regardless, there should be some sort of fail over that prevents the hood from flying open in the event the front trunk is accidentally opened, or in the event the trunk randomly opens on its own. Perhaps a secondary latch or disabling the vehicle from driving? The hood flying up, smashing the windshield and completely blocking the drivers' visibility could have caused a severe or potentially fatal collision. Additionally, the incident caused over $4,143.34 in vehicle damage on a car that has just 202 miles on it. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While driving at highway speed and in adaptive cruise control, my car experienced abrupt deceleration. This happened at least 6 times in the course of a round trip from Austin to El Paso and back. In each instance, there was no nearby obstacle, such as a vehicle or debris or an animal. All driving was done in daylight, and the car wasn’t traveling through an underpass or any other shadow. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I received my 2022 Tesla Model Y a few weeks ago and quickly began to notice intermittent sudden breaking when utilizing the "Auto-pilot" feature. Because of these incidents I rarely utilize this feature any more. Today during an out of town trip, on two occasions when utilizing cruise control the car suddenly applied its breaks. During both occasions there were no other vehicles within 100 yards and the freeway (I-17 in Arizona) opposite direction lanes were separated by hills/rocks and not in direct eyesight. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While driving on highways /interstates and using the vehicle cruise control or autopilot, the vehicle will suddenly apply the braking system when there is nothing in front of it. I would list specifics, but it happens every time that we take the vehicle on the highway/interstate, usually within the first 15 minutes. This has happened multiple times on trips, at 80mph (South Dakota) or at 65mph. I have noticed that white vehicles tend to trigger it more than others, even if they are just sitting on the side of the road or parked in a driveway off of the highway. Hills also seem to throw it off, when you are at the top and just over the crest, it has applied the brakes multiple times. This has gotten progressively worse since I've owned the vehicle (Dec 2021) which is why I am only now reporting it. I will no longer use it as I firmly believe me or my family would be seriously injured or killed if there is a vehicle behind me, especially at 80 mph that was not expecting the car to brake hard and as a result rear ended me. This is a significant vehicle vision system issue and it really does need to be addressed before lives are lost, if they have not been already. There are no other issues with the vehicle, no warning lights on and absolutely no indication the vehicle will apply the brakes until you are suddenly lurched forward due to rapid deceleration. I understand this is already on NHTSA radar but believe this is a much larger issue than is being reported. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Phantom braking — the car brakes for no reason in navigate on autopilot as well as adaptive cruise control. The phantom braking is particularly extreme on I80 through Nevada and US Rte 95 through Oregon, which is a two-lane road. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The car system been keep crash cause it screen frozen and while crash it will no speed display no ac no warning no back up camera and important after lifting gas pedal the car will not reduce speed as before and I almost crash the car. Been report the problem to Tesla since early July and the keep cancel my appointment said it need wait for updates but can’t provide the date. I requested get the loaner while they can’t solve the problem but they denied and cancel my service appointment . It dangerous to drive and very unpredictable when the system crash while driving. While driving expect the car will reduce Speed but it not and no speed will display will cause over speed limit. The the pre collision system will not work at all and the system crash every few minutes and screen will shut off it self. While system crash will need triple amount of force the press on brake pedal to stop the car when it on high speed it impossible to respond to stop at short distance. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | On a 1,500 mile road trip I experienced phantom braking once every 30 minutes while using both auto pilot and cruise control | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | I was driving on freeway 110S in heavy evening traffic. Suddenly Tesla touchscreen showed "Vehicle shutting down - pull over safely" and "Power reduced .. exit and enter may restore operation". Car had enough momentum and luckily I could change one lane and moved to shoulder. There was no crash and I called Tesla roadside assistance for towing car to Tesla service center. The car could not start and towed to nearest service station. This is a safety issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Model Y will repeatedly break for no reason while using Autopilot. This seems to happen most often less busy and smaller highways. The behavior makes Autopilot extremely unsafe to use when traveling at high speed with other vehicles behind you. There’s absolutely no reason for the sudden breaking with no cars ahead on the road. Shadows, dips in the road, cracks seem to be registered by the car as obstacles. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES | My 2022 Tesla Y brakes suddenly when I am not expecting it to. This has happened many times on the freeway in traffic at high speed and often with large trucks behind me. I am concerned that I will get rear-ended by a much larger vehicle. This unexpected sudden braking has also occurred in city traffic. My car does not have full auto pilot- it has the standard driver assist that can't be removed from the car. I have tried to get help from my local Tesla Dealer but the service dept has been unwilling and uninterested in providing any service for this issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While using Navigate on Autopilot, vehicle applied heavy braking when no obstacle was present. Vehicle was traveling on a flat highway, no vehicles were within eyesight ahead and there was full daylight with the sun positioned behind the vehicle. Vehicle traveling behind us swerved to avoid collision. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |