Complaint volume
1068 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
2023 Tesla Model Y Complaints
1068 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2023 Tesla Model Y, grouped by component category.
1068 Total complaints
137 Crash reports
3 Fire reports
45 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, steering, vehicle speed control,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 137 crash reports, 3 fire reports, 45 injury reports, and 1 fatality report. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 74 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 13,628 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to forward collision avoidance, steering, vehicle speed control,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 2023 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.
2023 Tesla Model Y
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2023 Tesla Model Y complaints?
137 Crash
3 Fire
45 Injury
1 Fatality
92 Towed
34 Medical attention
What are the most common 2023 Tesla Model Y complaint categories?
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 184
STEERING 97
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 65
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 60
SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 54
SUSPENSION 53
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 36
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 34
VISIBILITY/WIPER 32
SEAT BELTS 26
1,068 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I was driving down I90 with no one in front of me and a clear road. Unexpectedly, the right side passenger airbags exploded and struck me in the face and shoulder. The car immediately braked and I saw a semi truck pass me on the right with pieces of what appeared to be tire debris flying in the air. I pulled over and my car become inoperable. I inspected the outside of the vehicle and there was no damage or collision at all yet the passenger side airbags went off. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2024 | AIR BAGS,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Airbags (any) failed to deploy in a hard impact t-bone collision with another vehicle, endangering occupants. Vehicle is being inspected by insurer. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Jul 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRIC | Regenerative braking is a huge factor when it comes down to hydroplaning. Hydroplaning and braking do not go well together. Generally in a normal gasoline vehicle, when in a hydroplaning situation where you feel the vehicle is beginning to slide, you would let go of the throttle (gas pedal), and correct the steering. Upon doing that, regenerative braking (which comes from letting go of the gas pedal), caused the vehicle to completely go sideways and no chance for me to correct the steering. This situation could have been avoided if the vehicle did not automatically brake on it's own when I let go of the throttle, in this situation. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed Medical attention | Unknown |
| Jul 2024 | STRUCTURE | On 5/23/2024 I gradually noticed a clunking noise associated with driving, more noticeable the faster I went (max 20-30mph). Concerned for a flat tire, I check the tire pressure in my car and it was normal in all 4 tires, no obvious flat tire externally. I continued to drive as normal. The following day on 5/24/2024, I was on the highway when all of a sudden I felt a huge change in the smoothness while driving. I shortly thereafter got a notification (albeit small alert on the screen) to pull over immediately, by the time I was partially able to reach the shoulder, my care was practically scraping on metal. 911 had to shut down the I95 ramp as I couldn't make it entirely in the shoulder. Until they arrived, I could have experienced a major accident on a very busy highway. After examining the car, it was clear the previous clunking noise was due to a missing screw of the wheel arch liner, which had caused it to be hitting the tire. This subsequently resulted in the complete destruction and blow-out of my tire. Replaced by Tesla and charged for the entire service cost. Now, 7/24/2024 another safety defect in the exterior fittings of my car. I noticed that the underbody panel of my car has been partially detached and has been hanging down. There have been no accidents or unsafe road conditions that would have caused this to have occurred. I believe another screw has come off of the fittings. This too could have resulted in a major accident. There is no obvious trauma or events in which these two product damages have occurred. Both in which gave little to no warnings and could have resulted in serious damage, injury or death. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2024 | SERVICE BRAKES | The contact called on behalf of her mother who owned a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while the mother was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle independently accelerated. The contact's mother depressed the brake pedal, however the vehicle did not stop. The contact stated that the vehicle crashed into a concrete pillar. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle was not equipped with a self-mode drive. The contact's mother sustained injuries and was transported to the local hospital. The contact's mother was treated for a broken right ankle, a broken rib, and a possible torn ACL. A Police report was filed, however, the information was unavailable. The vehicle was condemned as a total loss. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 8,613. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed Medical attention | 8,613 |
| Jul 2024 | AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Tesla met with an head on collision with another Toyota. Tesla’s airbags didn’t deploy and i had my 6 year old in car as well. The other car which was 2007 toyota, its airbag still worked. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Jul 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | My husband and I use our phones as the key to the car, which is a commonly used (and suggested) feature for Tesla vehicles. We were leaving the beach with our baby. I had our phones in one of the beach bags, which enabled me to open the trunk and side door. I dropped the bags in the trunk so my husband could finish loading the car while I strapped the baby in the car seat. When we were done he closed the trunk and we tried to open the door but it was locked with our baby inside. Suddenly, the phone would not recognize neither of our phone keys nor the key cards inside our wallets, which were also in the car. Now the baby is trapped in the car in 100 degree heat. We had to borrow someone’s phone to call 911 and break the window so we could get our baby out of the hot car. When the phone (key) is in the car the car IS NOT supposed to lock. This was the first time this ever happened and it could have been fatal. Luckily, emergency responders arrived quickly to retrieve our baby. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES | In May 2023, after I took my car from the Tesla service center in Santa Ana, I realized there was an issue of shaking and shredding from the motor, and it got worse when I pressed the brakes. That happened when I drove the car down a steep road from [XXX] down to [XXX] in the city of Laguna Beach; Then I drove the car to a different road from [XXX] , then down from [XXX] to [XXX] and [XXX] , where it is down steep as well. Then the same issue showed up, and I couldn't keep pressing break because the shaking got worse, so I let the car roll with shaking till it reached the straight road and stopped. Since then, I have started to avoid steeping, but once, it showed up on another downhill street, which was not as steep as the others. Still, it was a longer downhill, coming from [XXX] down to [XXX] till it splits to [XXX] and [XXX] . At that time, I did not have time to take it to the service because I was very disappointed with them after taking it for several issues several times. They never fixed them, and because I had my mother, who was in critical health issues, I needed to be with her all the time and take her to her appointments for her surgeries and wound care for several months until this year in March. Then I realized that the issue keeps changing from existing to disappearing to existing again. Still, instead of starting at a speed of 1 mile, it begins at 9 miles and disappears at a speed of 11 - 12 miles. It does not have a high level of shaking, but it still exists. I am unsure if that changes with the different updates they do through the air for the car. But the issue still exists, and the shaking levels change. Lately, they have taken it seriously after several attempts to report it and bring it to the service center. After nine days, they concluded that they had tried a similar car. This issue does exist, and it is normal when I have tried multiple cars, including their several demo cars at different times. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | On July 11, 2024 around 7:45 AM as I was at an intersection waiting for the light to change, I had my foot on the brake pedal when the vehicle suddenly accelerated on its own, The brake pedal was deppressed and It still could not stop the vehicle. The vehicle travelled at least 60-80 feet with the brake pedal deppressed until it finally came to a stop. At the time there was 4 people in the vehicle, we were lucky that there was no traffic at the intersecction which could have caused a collision. We feel that this vehicle is unsafe to drive. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2024 | TIRES | My car has less than 9000 miles on it, when I had a tire burst on [XXX] California heading south around exit [XXX]. I called Prirellei and they told me that they will not talk directly with me and I need to ask Tesla to contact them. The tire replaced by Tesla. I asked them to contact with manufacturer of the tire, as Tesla is not covering the warranty. The Manufacturer mention to Tesla to fill the inspection forms and they will pick up the tire, inspect and reimburse for it. I spent more than 2 hours back and forth with these two. Now Prirellei tells me that Tesla needs to ship the tire to their facility and Tesla is not willing to do that. 255/45 R10 104 V M+S INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2024 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | I had the vehicle wrapped on July 5, 2024. The vehicle has never been in a collision. The shop whom did the work did a video of the install showing it was a manufacturer defect. Took the vehicle to Tesla and they denied my warranty even when showing them proof. Both left and right side headlights have the mounting issue which could cause undesired beam to incoming traffic. Bumper is the only thing holding the headlights. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle misread the Route 10 road sign for the speed limit sign and the vehicle decelerated to 10 MPH. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 9,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 9,000 |
| Jul 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving with the Autonomous Self Driving feature activated, the feature became inoperable. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact used the APP, and the vehicle was repaired Over-the-Air (OTA). The contact stated while driving again with the Autonomous Self Driving feature activated, the failure recurred, and the safety features became inoperable. The contact stated that the camera was operable but not communicating with the ADAS- Autonomous Self Driving feature. The contact sent a message to the local dealer to schedule an appointment. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the ADAS-Autonomous Self Driving started working but then became inoperable again. The contact stated that the failure was related to the ADAS-Autonomous Self Driving System software failure. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 1,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 1,000 |
| Jul 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | The contact owned a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving at 30-40 MPH, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated causing the contact to lose control of the vehicle and crash into the rear of a parked vehicle. The vehicle continued to accelerate and traveled across the street crashing into another parked vehicle. The vehicle continued to accelerate on its own forward and over a sidewalk and crashed into two street signs when it came to a stop. No warning lights were illuminated. No injuries were sustained. No air nags deployed. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an autobody center. The insurance company deemed the vehicle totaled. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 12,000. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | 12,000 |
| Jul 2024 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Small particles of chips has been causing windshield cracks I had 2 incidents of above scenario, second incidence caused entire windshield to crack across the windshield, Tesla does not replace quickly due to lack of appointments on their end, drivers driving with such issue could get into accidents I would like to report 2 incidents, not sure how NHSTA investigates (prevention vs fixes in reasonable time) 1. Windshields are too thin resulting in cracks very easily than compared to other similar cars 2. Inability of Tesla service to fix the windshield replacement quickly, I have to wait till August 2024 to get replacement done, which means i have to ground the car or drive it with cracked windshield (this is clearly safety issue) it cost be 1500$ estimated amount to get it repaired Please work with Tesla to investigate if windshield is thick enough compared to other standard cars | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2024 | SEAT BELTS | Rear passenger seat belt does not latch. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2024 | STEERING | The power steering stopped working while I was pulling out of a parallel parking space. It started working again when my speed went above 5 mph. The risk was that I was briefly in traffic, and it was very difficult to steer the car. The dealer has not seen the vehicle yet, and I didn’t notice any warning messages, but I also wasn’t looking at the screen at the time. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | TIRES | My five-month new Tesla Model Y tire blowout without any alert before it happened. The tire is original Pirelli Scorpion 255 / 45 / R19. Last week while I was driving at around 70 mph on a three-lane freeway. All of a sudden, I felt someone is dragging my wheels to the left. I was totally astonished. My first reaction was to hold my wheels. Within a few seconds I was totally out of control and zigzagging lanes a couple of times before I finally slowed down and pulled my car over to the shoulder. I was in the middle lane and fortunately there’s no cars on my sides at that particular moment. With that speed and that short period, I couldn’t avoid to bump on others if there’s any nearby. I was lucky that it didn’t happen a little earlier on a bridge or a little late when I would be driving on a multiple-lane beltway with construction site in the median. Tesla roadside assistance came to put a new tire for me and cost me $600. I truly believe it is design issue. I’ve been driving more than 20 years and this was my first time with tire blowout. Not to mention it’s just five months new. I’m pretty sure there’s no any warning before it happened. While I was waiting for the assistance on the shoulder, there’s a small message on the screen saying the tire pressure is very low and pull over safely. I’m not sure when this message showed up. But at least I’m sure it didn’t show up 5 minutes ago before I drove on freeway as I couldn’t pay attention on the screen while driving on freeway with high speed. Tesla should give warnings vocally and visually before this dangerous situation happens. I tried to report this issue to Tesla but couldn’t find any email address to report. Tesla should be aware of and evaluate this issue to make the existing and future driver to be more comfortable and safer. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Yesterday, 6/21/2024, something strange happened while I was driving my 2023 Tesla Model Y on the westbound 210 highway. The car was in autopilot mode, cruising at around 65 mph at approximately 11:20 AM. Suddenly, I heard a loud shattering (or explosive) sound. The next thing I knew, my front passenger window was completely shattered. Initially, I thought a rock or some object might have hit my window, but I couldn't find any remnants inside the car. Once I got home, I examined the window from the outside. The glass was almost completely smooth, as if it had exploded. Fortunately, since my windows are tinted, the shattered glass remained mostly intact. Can anyone help me figure out what might have caused this? The exterior side is smooth like butter with no visible impact. Could it be a defect? | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | WHEELS,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | I used the Full Self Driving software Tesla provided us in April. On [XXX], the car did not detect a curb therefore the car went right over the curb which popped both right side tires and the front rim. Damage was $1,800. I brought this up to Tesla and they informed me that it was my fault for not taking over and refused to help with the repairs. I understand taking over if there was a 3-foot shoulder, but on roads with no shoulder such as this one I found it impossible to correct in time. Also, at the very last split second, the torque on the wheel was too tight too correct (not enough time anyways). This is a busy state maintained road in the middle of Columbia, Missouri near a college campus and my safety was put at risk while I had to find the next side street to pull over. This is dangerous software that is not ready yet. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | On [XXX] around 9:20 pm we were driving south on [XXX] in Vancouver, WA. The car was on cruise control (not autopilot or autosteer) at 65 mph. The car braked really hard and dropped the speed to nearly 20 mph. We do not know why the car braked, there was no one in front of us. Fortunately there was no one behind us other us we could have been rear-ended. I quickly took control of the car and increased the speed. We have not driven the car on highway since then or taken the car to the dealership yet. There was a message on the screen after the incidence but it disappeared before we could read it. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | WE WERE TRYING TO PARK THE CAR IN OUR GARAGE WHEN THE CAR SUDDENLY SPED UP. AND HIT OUR THE FENCE . i RELEASED THE PEDAL BUT IT KEPT DRIVING UNTIL I HIT THE BRAKE. AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. THE CAR?S FRONT WAS SMASHED. OUR FENCE IS ALSO BADLY DAMAGED. I HAVE ASKED TESLA TO INVESTIGATE IF IT WAS BECAUSE OF THE AUTOPILOT TAKING OVER BUT HAVE NOT RECEIVED A RESPONSE FROM THEM YET AFTER MORE THAN A WEEK. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the windshield wiper was activated; however, the windshield wiper blades to function as intended. The contact stated that the wipers were set on automatic; however, the wipers failed to activate as needed. The contact stated that due to the failure, the vehicle was almost involved in a crash. The contact stated that the failure had occurred several times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was unknown. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while driving 15 MPH in the right lane with Self-Driving Assist mode engaged, the vehicle veered to the right and struck a 3–4-inch white curb. The contact stated that he immediately regained control of the vehicle, steered the vehicle back in the lane and turned off the vehicle. The contact stated that after disengaging the Self-Driving Assist mode, a message inquiring feed-back was displayed, and the contact reported the incident. The contact inspected the vehicle and was able to continue driving without Self-driving Assist mode. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle data did not indicate that the incident had occurred. The manufacturer provided no assistance. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 14,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 14,000 |
| Jun 2024 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I reported this issue previously (11589255) and am providing an update: I took my car to the nearest dealer with my less-than-1-year-old non-functioning key card that TESLA told me I had to replace at a cost of 2/$45. I mentioned to the dealer, who is kind an helpful, about the automatic braking in cruise control. I had already disabled "Apply Brakes when Regenerative Braking is Limited" under Dynamics on the screen. (see photo) He showed on the screen, under Autopilot, that I could disable Automatic Emergency Braking, which I did. I was concerned that this warning pops up: "The vehicle will not automatically apply the brakes even when a collision is detected" (see photo) but he suggested I try it to see if it would solve the cruise-control braking. I was hopeful, and disabled it, knowing that it might take a while to know if that solved the problem. I drove the 30 miles home on the frontage road instead of the interstate, and when there were no other cars around, I set cruise control at 50 mph, the speed limit. I came to a series of small hills in the road, and was reminded of the first time the automatic braking happened, on a 60 mph road with longer amplitude hills of greater height. Amazingly, it happened again! Pretty significant braking and slowed me to 25. This time I waited it out to see if it would resume the cruise control at 50. It did not. I have since restored the Automatic Emergency Braking as that seems important for a crash situation. I have restored the "Apply Brakes When Regenerative Braking is Limited" since that obviously was not the problem either. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |