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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | The Tesla Model Y autoaccelerated even with me pressing the brakes. The car was on regenerative breaking and instead of stopping it accelerated lunging into the walkway and almost killing a person. The car hit another car, 2 bike racks and a tree as well as concrete slabs beofr coming to a stop. There have been reports of unintended auto acceleration from Tesla cars. The car components has not been inspected by police, manufacturer or insurance representatives. There were warninngs, especially with the car reporting that sensors were not properly calibrated. I reported this to Tesla agents and they told me not to worry about it. I am injured with a left wrist sprain as well as Neck and back injuries. I need Tesla to take ownership and pay dearly! | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed Medical attention | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Phantom Braking of vehicle when using either TACC or Autopilot on highways. Vehicle will suddenly slow down/apply brakes when traveling at highway speeds. Unsure why vehicle is doing this. Sometimes it looks like the vehicle thinks it see's a person in the highway? There are never any obstructions. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | STEERING | I lost all power in my steering and was completely unable to steer. I contacted Tesla who advised me to conduct a soft reboot and the issue was resolved only to return about an hour later. I contacted Tesla again for roadside assistance. I was advised to complete a soft reboot and drive the vehicle to the nearest service station. I refused to drive the vehicle, as I did not feel safe to do so. Tesla sent a tow truck to pickup the vehicle and drop off at a Tesla service station. After 3 days, I was informed there was a malfunction in the vehicles steering rack and the entire part will be replaced. I conducted research and found a lot of owners are experiencing the same issue with 2023 Tesla Y, some even having crashes as a result. This is very unsafe and needs to be addressed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | STEERING | The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became stiff and difficult to maneuver. The steering assist warning light illuminated. The contact veered off the roadway. The contact notified a tow truck company, and the vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering rack had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the contact was concerned for her safety while driving the vehicle. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 1,400. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 1,400 |
| Sep 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I went on vacation with my wife and [XXX] son to Canada on this vehicle. On August 27, 2023 around 1700 hrs while I was on highway-40 from Montreal to Quebec city the car screen suddenly displayed “ Car is shutting down , immediately pull off to a safe area, emergency brake disabled”. Battery showed 59 % charge at that time. I managed to pull the car at intersection between highway and an exit before it totally stopped and became non-responsive in less than a minute. I started communicating via text with TESLA help line after attempting to reboot the screen which did not resolve the issue. While this communication was going on vehicle got badly rear ended by a passing car. We were all wearing seat belts and thanks to that we juts had mostly bruises but my son suffered agonizing psychological trauma and kept on crying incessantly for long. He also had an injury on right knee from a piece that shattered from the rear door which also got jammed after the impact. TESLA helpline said since accident has happened they will not be able to assist further, rest of the matter should be sorted out with my insurance. Some good Samaritans stopped the traffic for us and helped us leave the car immediately to the outer border of the exit road fearing that battery may catch fire as a result of impact burning everyone down. The car was later towed to a nearby facility arranged by Police and declared totaled by my insurance. It was some kind of electronic glitch which made car hung up like a computer but TESLA has so far not acknowledged that or offered any assistance. Of note on TESLA app when we press Roadside assistance, it leads to --> Drivability concern which displays first option as --> Shut down while driving. Its a serious issue needs thorough investigation. We all could have been dead if hit by a bigger vehicle and could have been multiple vehicle accident on a high speed highway. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While driving with autopilot/cruise control, the car started braking heavily with no obvious obstruction on the road. This happened 5 times over 2 days of long distance driving. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | STEERING | It’s just been 2 weeks in I bought my Tesla Y 2023 model. Was exploring entertainment options in in park mode and then when I had to leave, I see this steering assist reduced and wasn’t able to move my steering at all, I was like what.. a brand new car having such safety issues, thank god didnt happen while I was on road, would have definitely killed me. Tried rebooting or reset but still the same. After multiple attempts, power steering came back on and I was able to get home. After reaching home immediately requested a service through my Tesla app. This is very frustrating to see issues in a brand new car. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | STEERING | The steering wheel locked and stiff, wasn't able to turn. The was very dangerous as my wife and kids could have gotten into a serious accident. We are no longer comfortable with driving this vehicle even if Tesla repairs so we would like a refund | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | STEERING | Steering assist reduced error message. All of a sudden I was unable to steer the steering wheel. This was scary and dangerous. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | During the late afternoon of Saturday, Sep 9 on my way to Jackson, WY from Dallas, I was driving northwest on US Hwy 287 approximately between Vernon, TX and Clarendon, TX and experienced almost a dozen severe phantom braking incidents in the span of 1 hour. My windshield was clean, the weather was sunny and hot. The only thing I could see on the roadway was surface heat reflection/mirage (when the road surface gets hot and you see a mirror-like reflection). I did not experience this issue again until late afternoon on Friday, Sep 15 on US Hwy 87 between Raton, NM and Capulin, NM when I experienced 3 severe phantom braking incidents within a 10-minute timeframe. I recorded on video the 3rd incident and disengaged Autopilot/TACC for the remainder of the day. Video avail upon request. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | STEERING | I was driving and the steering wheel completely locked up, I could barely turn the wheel even when using all my strength. The car would only go forward and backward. I was fortunately pointed slightly towards the curb so was able to glide the car to a stop on the side of the road. There were no warnings prior to failure and I immediately lost all steering capability. The car was towed by Tesla to the service center. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH with the Autonomous Self Driving feature activated, the contact briefly lost control of the vehicle when the steering wheel suddenly started to wobble, and the vehicle swayed from side to side. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 975. | Crash: No Fire: No | 975 |
| Sep 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Tesla Model Y Emergency Braking applied on a freeway while driving with Enhanced Auto Pilot putting me and my family at high risk when there was no emergency whatsoever. My lane and the lanes either side of me were free and there was no traffic. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | Vehicle visualizations degrade over a few days following a firmware update and eventually show nothing on screen. Features such as auto wipers, traffic-aware cruise control, auto turn signals and blind spot indicators do not function. There is no warning to the driver in the car that these items are not working. While driving I am unaware if other safety features are not working (emergency braking for example). Manufacturer admits this is a firmware bug and has promised a repair multiple times. The service team has provided a temporary fix to manually reset the self driving computer each time this happens (approximately every 3 days) which requires a recalibration of the cameras rendering these features useless. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | STEERING | Power steering went out twice, both from changing gears once was mid drive second time was going from park to reverse. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | STEERING,SUSPENSION,WHEELS | I was driving through a busy nyc street very slowly. Probably 10 mph or less. I was on a red light. then i moved forward when the light turned green, my handle felt weird and the car was moving side ways. I first thought it was the tire that blew off. So I immediately stopped the car and had my husband look at the tires. No holes, no pressure was lost. I thought it was so odd, so I started moving forward a little bit, again. Something felt very off. We stopped again and looked throughly and realized the right rear wheel was twisted while the other three remained straight. This is our brand new car that was just picked up 7 days ago. We just simply couldn’t believe our eyes. My whole family including my husband, my two kids (7,10), our dog and myself were in the car and I can’t imagine ourself being in the same situation if we were on a highway at a faster speed. We’d probably dead by now. I didn’t hit anything, i was going 10 mph, there was nothing on the street. And the wheel getting twisted like that just doesn’t justify anything but a defect. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | STEERING | While Driving the car the steering became unresponsive, this almost created like a death situation for me. Tesla should be held accountable. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | STEERING | Steering wheel locked up while driving and making a turn | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | STEERING | - Failed system: Steering wheel was locked up in the middle of driving. Driver was making a right turn at an intersection. Suddenly a "Steering Assist Reduced" UI_a020 warning appeared on screen, and driver was unable to turn the wheel. No autopilot in any level whatsoever was turned on. - Safety risk: Driver hit another car due to the loss of control of the vehicle. Thankfully it happened in a city intersection. If it happened on a highway, much more damages and casualties might have been incurred. - Reproducing the problem: Right after the accident, driver was ordered to pull the car over to the side. But even after a few restarting of the car, the UI_a020 warning reappeared sporadically. From that time we completely stopped driving the car and drove it only occasionally to load/unload it to tow trucks. So we did not have much chance to reproduce the problem. We have some photos and video clips of the UI_a020 warning taken on the date of the accident. - Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others?: Not yet. Currently the vehicle is at a Tesla Approved body shop (collision center) for repair. - Any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure: There was no UI_a020 warning that we recall prior to the time of the accident. This could be unrelated to the UI_a020 issue, but one day before the accident, I was trying to unlock the car using my cell phone, but the car did not recognize it. Only after turning off and on the Bluetooth several times was I able to unlock the car. This had never happened before and after. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | I bought a brand new tesla, only to find out that it was not emitting any sound slowly driving forward, but only when in reverse. I read through the cars manual and there it says the car should make a sound moving forward under 19mph, to warn pedestrians of the oncoming tesla (my car). If the car does not do that, then to immediately contact Tesla service. I did that and Actually so was there at my Tesla service station in Burbank CA in person and they said to me, I should not worry what their own manual for the car says. The car is not to make a pedestrian warning sound forward, but only when in reverse. To be honest, that seems wrong to me. Please advise. Thank you for your time and consideration. Kind regards, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Driving west on John McCain road (after turning off of I-26 S) in Colleyville, TX. Numerous times, with no oncoming traffic, no cross traffic and clear conditions / visibility PHANTOM BRAKING caused speed to drop (while on cruise control @ ~35 MPH) down to 18-19 MPH. There was NO REASON for it to brake / stop and there was a car behind me, which was forced to stop. I'm sure they thought I was crazy / brake checking them. Clearly the Tesla Adaptive Cruise / Front Sensors (uses only cameras on my model now I believe) caused the braking for now reason. This is a huge issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | STEERING | lost all power steering today on model Y 2023 tesla. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | I was turning right from a residential street onto a busy street during rush hour. I heard a sound, which made me think I might have run over something. Immediately following the sound, an alert showed up on the car’s touch screen with the message: “Vehicle May not restart: Service required”. The car was immediately inoperable - the car could not move and it could not shift into neutral to be pushed off the road. The 12V battery of the car continued to function for roughly 10 minutes after the car became stuck, which I knew because I was able to exit my vehicle normally, the touch screen remained illuminated and I was able to turn my hazards on. It did eventually die and I became locked out of the car at that point. I was in the middle of a busy intersection with no hazard lighting at that point and the car could not be moved, so I called emergency services and requested a police officer for traffic redirection while I waited around an hour and a half for a tow. Regarding the initial sound that I heard, I checked under the car as well as in the street around it, and there were no signs of debris or any visible evidence of damage to the undercarriage of the vehicle. I can only assume that the sound that I heard was whatever failure that had occurred internally in the car. At the time of this incident, the car was charged to around 85% of battery, was only a few weeks old, had never been in any type of collision, or required any service. Tesla has inspected the vehicle and identified the malfunction as a failure of the front and rear drive inverter. The situation that I was in was dangerous to myself and to the other drivers on the road with me. A sudden and complete stop on a busy road or in a location without cell coverage could be life threatening. The fact that there were no warning lamps, messages or any warning symptoms of the failure is extremely concerning and puts drivers and others on the road with them at a high risk. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS | The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that as his wife attempted to park the vehicle in their garage, the vehicle independently accelerated without warning and crashed into a concrete wall. The air bags did not deploy upon impact. The contact stated that his wife suffered from neck pain for a week after the accident but did not seek medical treatment. A police report was filed. The garage was damaged as a result of the accident. The vehicle was towed to an independent body shop where the vehicle was deemed a total loss. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 19. | Crash: No Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed | 19 |
| Sep 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER,BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Brand new vehicle, the vehicle cameras do not seem to be conveying the correct information to the control systems resulting in all related safety features like forward collision, parking assist, lane departure, automatic wipers, adaptive cruise control, blind spot warning, green light chime, etc are not working. In the last few months these features have not been operational for more than a few days. This is a major safety flaw with this vehicle and the local dealer is unable or unwilling to help. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |