Complaint volume
1067 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
1067 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2023 Tesla Model Y, grouped by component category.
1067 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
1,067 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2025 | SUSPENSION | I am reporting a safety defect involving loose lower control arm bolts on my 2023 Tesla Model Y Long Range (VIN: [XXX] ), discovered at 33,008 miles. We purchased the vehicle brand new, and it has no modifications or repairs to the suspension. On 09/02/2024, a warning light appeared. At the time, I did not know if it was related to the suspension. In the weeks after, I began noticing popping/clunking noises when turning or going over bumps, and the steering felt noticeably looser and less stable. On 11/08/2024, the issue was identified: bolts on the lower control arm were backing out and were extremely loose. On 11/11/2024, during a scheduled Tesla service visit, I drove the vehicle to the service center and demonstrated the noises and steering issues. Tesla technicians inspected the vehicle and confirmed it was unsafe to drive due to the loose control arm bolts. This is a serious safety concern. Loose or backing-out lower control arm bolts can lead to loss of steering control or suspension separation, creating a high risk of a crash. The vehicle did not provide a clear suspension-related warning prior to this issue, and the problem would not have been noticeable to an average driver until it became severe. Because this occurred on a well-maintained, unmodified vehicle with just over 33,000 miles, I am concerned this may indicate a broader manufacturing or quality-control issue affecting other Tesla Model Y vehicles. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate this defect for potential patterns and determine whether a recall or corrective action is warranted. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I was trying to park my vehicle on a normal street and Tesla's Automatic Emergency Braking APP_w050 kicks in and aggressively brake when i try to parallel park. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | STRUCTURE | REAR LIFT GATE: When the rear lift gate opens fully, it immediately and unexpectedly closes within a few seconds with force. This could strike someone standing behind the vehicle. The issue occurs every time the liftgate is opened, even on level ground. I used the pinch button to open the lift gate, and while it was opening I started to put something in the back up near the back seats. As soon as the lift gate fully opened it quickly closed down on me (seemed faster than normal) and I was stuck. The lift gate safety mechanism did not work in that it did not sense that it had closed on something and it continuedd to put pressure on me as it tried to fully close. I was able to rearrange myself and lift it off of me, but the whole time it was still trying to close and when I let it go it immedately finished shutting. | Crash: No Fire: No Injuries: 1 | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Pulled into hospital parking garage. Stopped to pull parking ticket. When the parking gate was raised, Tesla immediately took off at very high uncontrolled speed. Basically a runaway vehicle. There was no accerlation on my part. Brakes did not work. Hit parked car in the garage about 300 feet from the parking gate. I was taken to hospital with broken wrist. Car has been totaled. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed Medical attention | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Our tesla y is under warranty but despite a baby seat and an adult sitting in the back seats the rear AC wont turn on automatically and thus providing extreme danger to my toddler. Tesla tried to fix but refuses to continue further citing a software update is needed. THIS IS PUTTING BABIES IN TEXAS HEAT IN EXTREME DANGER AS THEY CANT TELL THE PARENTS THE REAR AC IS NOT WORKING. WHILE MOST TESLAS DO NOT HAVE THIS ISSUE, OUR BATCH OF TESLA HAS THIS PROBLEM YET TESLA REFUSES TO HONOR THEIR WARRANTY CARING MORE ABOUT DOGS WITH THEIR DOG MODE BUT GIVING NO SUCH OPTION TO BABIES(WOULD YOU BELIEVE NO WAY TO KEEP REAR AC on all the automatically unless seat sensor detects baby seat or adult which both are broken in our car | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? HVAC heat pump and defrost/defog system failure. The failure caused immediate fogging/condensation on the windshield and door windows. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request and no parts have been removed. [Tesla Model/Year, VIN last 8]. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Sudden loss of forward and side visibility made it impossible to see lane markings, surrounding traffic, or mirrors, preventing a safe lane change or pull-over to the shoulder. This created a risk of collision with vehicles ahead or beside me. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes but they are not covering it. This is a very common issue reported by many owners Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? No. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by Tesla, law enforcement, insurance, or third parties. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No warning lamps or messages appeared. The fogging occurred suddenly while driving on [date, approx. time], immediately after the cabin heat pump failed to clear the glass and visibility dropped to near zero. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | SUSPENSION | Just in school driveway going over speed bumps and 2 bolts that is hold the control arm fell out. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES | Driving our 2023 Tesla model Y east on [XXX] on [XXX] near Pecos TX. Car suddenly lost power and started hard braking. We were rear ended by a large pick-up truck that was following as we were both traveling approximately 80 miles per hour when this occurred. The car was towed back to Dallas from Big Springs, TX (approximately 280 miles). The car's rear-end damage was such that my Tesla was deemed totaled by the insurance company. This power failure and hard braking had happened to me repeatedly over the last few years. When I spoke to Tesla at the Dallas service center about this issue, they acted as though they had never heard of this happening to anyone. We were both shaken by this accident but other than some soreness the next day we are physically OK. Tesla repair estimate was approximately $22,000. I was forced to buy another car. I had not planned on doing this as my car was fairly new with low mileage. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | STEERING,SUSPENSION | While driving home from a shop, my Tesla Model Y suddenly stopped in middle of busy road and became unable to move forward. I had to press the accelerator hard, which caused a loud noise before the car moved slightly and I was able to pull over to side of road. I narrowly avoided being hit by another car. Upon inspection, it was found that front tire connecting rod and suspension had failed, causing rod to drop off. The tow truck who assisted me mentioned that this is common issue with Tesla vehicle. This was a terrifying experience and I feel extremely fortunate to have escape an accident. My vehicle is less than 24 months old and I am deeply concerned about the safety and reliability of this component . I strongly urge Tesla to issue a recall and investigate this defect. There is no assurance that this failure won’t happen again. And this is scary | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | LANE DEPARTURE | FSD tried to pass on the shoulder multiple times and brake checked people multiple times. The FSD is unsafe and getting worse. Speed cannot be controlled. NO WAY TO CONTROL SPEED!!!?? Did you know this? Did you approve it? Did elon convince you it is ok? | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | STRUCTURE | My Tesla has a water leak through the liftgate, which is often caused by water ingress through the liftgate assembly. Tesla issued Service Bulletin SB-23-10-003 regarding this issue. When I contacted Tesla for service, they said my vehicle's VIN is not covered under this service bulletin, and I need to pay a service fee. The service bulletin mentions that vehicles built in Fremont, CA, are affected. Additionally, the rear light is constantly clogged with water, even in 80-degree weather. Furthermore, there is an air leak on the driver’s side door whenever the vehicle is moving in the next lane. Tesla says this is not covered under warranty. I paid a service fee for the repair, but it is still leaking. I requested them to take another look, and they are sending me a bill again. Thank you, [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | SUSPENSION | *Lower lateral link assembly, front lower compliance link assembly, front aero shield, and front halfshaft assembly were damaged. Unable to steer the car afterwards. *Sudden loss of steering, blocking lanes of traffic. *Problem is common on Teslas and a previous isolated recall was done. Tesla denies this being a widespread issue. *Car made some clunking sounds prior, no lights or any indication this was life threateningly serious. Car suddenly made a loud snap sound backing up, can see parts of the suspension dragging on the ground. Car needed to be towed by flat bed to a Tesla service center. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES | June 9, 2025 Phantom acceleration. No foot on accelerator. Car jumped from 5 to 35 mph. Breaks unresponsive for 3 seconds, smashed into 4 parked cars, creating a Chain-Reaction crash, my Tesla Model Y Totaled, Airbags deployed. Burlington Police Department arrived, took statements, filed report, no copy yet. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Both B-pillar camera housings on my 2023 Tesla Model Y Performance become extremely hot even when the vehicle is parked in a closed garage and not in use. On the morning of the incident, the garage temperature was approximately 78°F. The car had been parked overnight for over 12 hours, plugged in, and charging to 80%. While the vehicle was preconditioning, no defrost features were active. Despite this, both pillar surfaces measured 156°F with an infrared thermometer—hot enough to cause skin burns within seconds according to standard burn-threshold data for human skin (~155°F). Both sides heating to this temperature simultaneously suggests an electrical or control malfunction keeping the pillar camera assemblies energized. These components sit near the seatbelt anchor and side-curtain airbag area, raising concern of fire, electrical, or occupant-safety risk if the condition persists. Continuous heating while parked could also degrade wiring insulation or camera electronics used by the vehicle’s driver-assistance systems. The vehicle and affected components are available for inspection upon request. The issue has not yet been inspected or confirmed by Tesla, but a service appointment request was submitted immediately after the event. Tesla repeatedly rescheduled the appointment, delaying it by more than six weeks despite the described safety concern. No diagnostic alerts, warning messages, or notifications appeared in the vehicle or Tesla app. This abnormal heating has occurred more than once under similar conditions and does not appear to be caused by ambient temperature or sunlight exposure. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,WHEELS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | It was raining on I-287 North bound in Bridgewater Township, NJ. I was driving my Tesla Model Y well below the posted speed as it was raining. Suddenly my car took a spin, i lost control of the steering. Car took a 360 degree turn from right most lane on 3-lane highway and ended up on the side of the left most lane, rear ended into the bushes, hit the trees and damaged the back of the car. My car is all wheel drive, still i lost the control. I was so lucky to be alive. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN | While driving, I heard a loud clicking noise from the front driver side wheel, followed by resistance and dragging of something under the vehicle. I did my best to pull over safely, but I could no longer steer the car. The control arm complete broke off of the wheel, and was now almost resting on the street while the tire/wheel was lodged into the wheel well bent sideways. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | STEERING,SUSPENSION | The bolt that holds the front lateral link portion the the lower control arm to the subframe fell out while driving. I lost the ability to steer the car and had to stop immediately and have the car towed. In searching the internet this is a know issue by Tesla but has not been recalled. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | RE: VIN [XXX] Battery problem Car is less than 3 years old. Suddenly stopped in the middle of the road. Only had about 5 seconds or so to react and the car stuttered and shut down. Could not move it or drive it all. Dashboard was still working but it would not move and flashing red in the console. Very scary and frustrating experience. Fortunately, I was on a city and not on a highway. The car had an error: "Pull to the side" which was very short of an alert response. I tow the car to Tesla center and was told that more than likely main battery issue with the inverter or similar. The Service center does confirm the inverter has been reset but they cannot find anything wrong with it. I do not think it is safe to drive as incident could happen again with the battery/inverter. This has happened to many other cars Tesla had. Thanks, [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2025 | SUSPENSION | Noticed a minor squeaking sound during turning and during minor road bumpiness. Got worse, so did troubleshooting (turn wheel full right/left at very slow speed). There was a very loud pop/bang, and then a horrible grinding sound with accompanying vibration. Got out, noticed a large bolt laying on the ground. Looked under the car, and noticed the bolt was missing from the LH lateral linkage. The wheels are now canted/misaligned with each other (both facing inward, or one straight/one turned). There were zero warnings from the on board computer. If this had happened at highway speeds it could have been deadly or otherwise catastrophic. Completely unacceptable design. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2025 | STEERING,SUSPENSION,WHEELS | During normal driving on Sat Sep 27 2025, unusual noises started to come from the front left wheel. There were no warning lamps or messages, and no indication of issues prior to onset of the noise. I had the vehicle towed to a Tesla Service Center the following day. Tesla's technicians found that the front lateral link bolt on the left hand side had backed out and fallen out of the subframe. They determined that the cause was related to improper torque specification or application of the original bolt. They reached this conclusion in part because the passenger side lateral link to subframe bolts were also under-torqued. Rear bolts were not affected. Tesla has replaced the front lateral links on both sides with new bolts. There was no vehicle accident or damage, so there has been no involvement or inspection by police or insurance. It is fortunate that this issue began when the vehicle was traveling at low speed, and that I chose to have the vehicle towed to the service center rather than driving it. The bolt has loosened when the noise started, and finally fell out at the service center. Had I been driving at highway speeds when the bolt fell out, I could have lost control of the car and injured myself and others. Online research suggests this is not an isolated incident for this model of car. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2025 | STEERING,SUSPENSION,WHEELS | I picked up my son from school and got home at about 3:30 PM on Sunday 9/21/2025. My son got out of the car and I heard a “clicking” sound when turning my steering wheel to the left to prepare for backing into my garage. There were no warning lights or messages for this issue. I did get out of my car and checked, but did not see anything that hit my car underneath. I got back in my car and continued backing my car into the garage. The nightmare started happening - The bolts connecting the front control arm and steering knuckle fell off that caused the left “arm” disconnected from the steering knuckle. This had resulted a sudden total loss of steering control. Please see attached photos. I could not imagine if this would have happened on the freeway. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2025 | SUSPENSION | On last sunday (Sep.21, 2025), I drove my tesla model Y on high way. The vehicle suddenly loss of control and start shaking a lot. In the mean time, there are many system error messages posed on the screen, making the vehicle totally not drivable. On the second, it was identified by the Tesla service team that the lateral link bolt is missing. This issue has been the subject of Tesla recalls and reports, but after double check, my model Y never receive this recall, and cause me having no chance to prevent this accident happen. On last Saturday (Sep.21, 2025), I already reported the suspension issue through tesla app, but no Tesla service team person contact me, nobody help me. In summary, missing lateral link bolt is a very serious problem that cause the vehicle loss of control. However, Tesla never gives me a chance for recall repair, and even I report this and I still got no response. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2025 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | The Full Self Driving (Supervised) ADAS in this vehicle will react to shadows on the road and can put the car or other cars at risk. We have had multiple instances where, on a sunny day, the car will react to shadows cast on the road and take evasive action like braking or switching lanes abruptly. This can be hazardous due to the random nature of the of the occurrences and them happening at times when a driver may be lulled into a false sense that the car seems to be driving itself well. So far we have been lucky that no other vehicles were traveling too close behind or to the side of us. We have experienced this behavior multiple times and there are other people online who have reported this. The car gave no warning indicators either before, during, or after the occurrence. Note that our car uses a Hardware 3 computer. I believe that this issue may have been fixed on newer Tesla cars that use Hardware 4. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2025 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I am writing to formally lodge a complaint against Tesla, Inc. regarding multiple critical safety failures that occurred with my Tesla Model Y (VIN: [XXX] ) during a collision on Saturday, [XXX], while I was traveling eastbound on [XXX] from the [XXX] exit to the [XXX] exit in Pennsylvania. At approximately [XXX], I was driving in the left lane when a BMW SUV abruptly cut into my lane ahead of me, accelerated briefly, and then suddenly braked. I immediately applied the brakes multiple times in an effort to stop my car. Even though there was sufficient space to stop safely, the braking system failed to respond, resulting in a collision with the BMW in front of me. Despite my efforts to avoid the impact, the following dangerous and unacceptable failures occurred at the time of the accident: 1.Failure of Regenerative Braking / Deceleration: When I lifted my foot from the accelerator, the vehicle did not decelerate as expected under Tesla’s regenerative braking system. 2.Failure of Braking System: Despite pressing the brake pedal twice—including a heavy application—the braking system failed to prevent collision, contrary to Tesla’s advertised safety performance. 3.Failure of Collision-Avoidance Features: Critical safety systems—including Automatic Emergency Braking, Forward Collision Warning, and Obstacle-Aware Acceleration—did not engage to mitigate or prevent the impact. 4.Failure of Airbag Deployment: Despite the severity of the crash, none of the airbags deployed, exposing me to serious risk of injury and raising grave concerns about the integrity of the Model Y’s occupant protection systems. 5.Post-Collision Failure of Regenerative Braking: Following the accident, when I attempted to drive the vehicle, the regenerative braking system was completely non-functional, creating a continuing safety hazard and rendering the vehicle unsafe to operate. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2025 | STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER | Summary of Complaint: My 2023 Tesla Model Y has had two roof glass failures in three months (two glass roof replacements). Both times, the glass cracked from small road debris while driving under normal city conditions. Safety Concern The roof glass appears unusually fragile and prone to cracking, raising concerns about whether it meets industry standards for impact resistance and occupant safety. The rapid failure rate (two roof glass panels in three months) suggests a potential design or materials defect rather than isolated incidents of road damage. If roof glass panels cannot withstand normal road debris, this presents a safety risk for drivers and passengers, as well as for other motorists if large shards detach while driving. The roof glass seems unusually fragile. Two failures in such a short time suggest a design or material defect. If the glass cannot withstand normal road debris, it may not meet durability or safety standards. There is also risk to occupants and other drivers if roof glass fails while in motion. Request: Please investigate whether the 2023 Tesla Model Y roof glass meets required safety standards, and whether this issue is affecting other owners. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |