2022 Tesla Model Y 7-Seat SUV AWD
Safety Ratings.
NHTSA’s 5-Star Safety Ratings help consumers compare vehicle safety when searching for a car. More stars mean safer cars.
Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.
Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.
The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.
Rollover Risk: 7.9%
53 Complaints
Multiple occurrences of phantom braking phenomenon with cruise control engaged. Happened while driving into setting sun or at night. The car seemed to confuse shinny spots in the road (ice patches and tar repairs particularly at the crest of a hill or bridge) as a vehicle and apply the brakes. The braking was usually very aggressive and in one case almost resulted in a high speed rear end. Adjusting control parameters as available form the software did not have any effect. Have not had the car inspected at this point. No warning was given by the system but you can see a phantom image appear on the virtual display during the episode.
Car consistently brakes unexpectedly when another large car is passing going the opposite direction. There have also been times they shadows cause the same result. I believe this is referred to as phantom braking and it makes the adaptive cruise control unusable and dangerous.
I do not have full self driving on my car. However, the cameras installed are active when I use just normal cruise control. Trying to drive between the Minneapolis area to Pipestone, MN on Christmas day the car several times hit the brakes for me unexpectedly while in cruise control. We were on various roads, mostly at night, and with many times no seeable vehicles nearby. Other times it would be a vehicle coming at us in the proper lane next to us. I cannot use cruise control on this car for fear that a car will rear end me.
When cruise control (called autopilot) is engaged, the car will slam on the brakes for no apparent reason, endangering everyone around us. Sometimes it happens as frequently as several times a minute. It is particularly bad on 2 lane roads when cresting hills and when trucks are in the opposite lane, but it’s not limited to those situations. When we took the car to the Tesla repair shop, they closed the ticket after informing us that it is a “known software issue” with no resolution currently. So the problem was not fixed, but the ticket was closed anyway.
While driving on a single lane road in Bismarck, ND in low light conditions the car did what we call phantom braking anytime a oncoming car would be approaching.
When coming home from the dealer, it phantom braked twice. I thought at first maybe it was a shadow across the road. There was a software update the next day, and I hoped it was fixed. It was raining lightly and there wouldn't be any shadows.. a box truck came toward us in the opposite lane and it panic braked. As soon as I turned the cruise control back on, a semi came toward us, and it panic braked again. I've been afraid to use the cruise control since then.. if someone was inattentive behind me, they would probably hit me. Tesla says they have checked the systems on my car remotely and there is nothing wrong with it. (!!) It now has 200 miles on it.
Phantom braking when cruise control activated. Car will randomly reduce speed and / or brake when driving on highway or 2 lane highways. Makes cruise control unusable as it’s dangerous
Driving on HWY 101 just north of Santa Barbara California with cruise control on, the car suddenly braked dropping from 70 to 40. I pulled onto the shoulder so no one would rear end me. There was nothing in front of me in either lane. Luckily, there was also nothing behind me. This had happened previously but the slowing was far less abrupt and recovered immediately. I sent an email to the person with whom I dealt at the Tesla showroom saying I wanted to report this to Tesla, but have not heard back. Please advise on how I can report this to Tesla.
The car does phantom braking and creates dangerous situation on the highway. Happened many times on cruise control and autopilot.
Phantom braking when on cruise control
On many occasions the car slams on the brakes when there is no reason. Sometimes there is a car approaching from the other direction but not encroaching in my lane.
When on auto pilot or even simple cruise control the car often forcibly brakes for no apparent reason. It will sometimes brake when another vehicle is in the other lane or for no reason at all. I have asked the service center about the issue and they claim they have never heard of the problem. This is a very dangerous problem as it could cause a vehicle behind me to rear end me and cause damage or injury. It is terrifying when it happens.
I was driving on the highway using Autopilot, and the brakes engaged very suddenly without any warning signal nor was there anything in front of my car. (Aka “phantom braking” event).
I was driving 75mph on a divided highway. I was in the left lane passing a slower vehicle in the right lane. There was nothing in front of me. A pickup truck was a couple of car lengths behind me passing the vehicle on the right too. As we were passing the vehicle attempted to stop for absolutely no reason whatsoever. My Tesla Model Y essentially slammed on the brakes going 75mph with a vehicle behind me. There was zero reason to do this and was dangerous as I could have been rear ended.
While driving on freeway car drastically brakes for no apparent reason, almost getting rear ended by car behind me. This happens while cruise control is on, several times! Very dangerous
While in autopilot (driver assistance feature which keeps the vehicle in the lane and keeps a specified distance from the car in front of you) the car braked multiple times with no obstacle in front of the vehicle. Often referred to as phantom braking, the safety of others and yourself is at risk if there is a car behind you and your vehicle brakes for no apparent reason on the highway. I believe this is a known issue with other similar complaints.
Multiple occasions while using autopilot on 2 lane roads when semi trucks are coming in the opposite direction the Tesla will brake hard saying impending accident when the semi is staying in its lane ….it happens about 80 percent of the time. It’s so bad I will not use this feature till it’s fixed as it’s dangerous
The car is experiencing PHANTOM BRAKING. The vehicle incorrectly detects objects and brakes vigorously dropping speed really quickly. If traffic is following we could easily get rear ended. This happened over 10 times in a 100mile journey.
Both the autopilot and regular cruise control system without autopilot engaged are unsafe. The vehicle will brake, often extremely hard, when there is no hazard present. This happens on two lane roads and highways (4 or more lanes). This has nearly caused multiple accidents to the point where I will not use the autopilot feature and use cruise control very sparingly. Most of the time this happens, there are large trucks (semis) present but it has happened when there are smaller vehicles present or no vehicles present at all. I believe that it is only a matter of time before this system causes a major accident hence I choose not to use it often if ever, and if I do use it I use it sparingly and disengage it when other vehicles are present on the road. I haven’t used autopilot since a short while after purchasing the car and again, I use the cruise control sparingly. The inability to use cruise control is a real issue as it not only increases driver fatigue, it drastically reduces the confidence in the other safety mechanisms of the car.
The car brakes are applied when a truck traveling in opposite lane drives by when the cruise control is engaged. This has also occurred when there was discoloration on the road surface in my travel lane. Fortunately, no auto was following my vehicle or there would have been an accident.
While traveling east and west on I-8 between San Diego and Phoenix the 2022 Tesla Model Y would suddenly brake. We could not reliably reproduce when or how the vehicle braked. On some occasions, we were near other vehicles. On other occasions there were no other vehicles or obstacles on or near the car. Others at risk. On the highway the vehicle rapidly decelerated and if there would have been a car behind us, there would have been an accident. After the first two incidents, we kept our foot on the gas pedal to accelerate if we felt a rapid deceleration. Reproducing the problem. We rarely drive the car, and have not had the problem in city driving. We tried to reproduce the problem during that trip, but we're unsuccessful. We have not taken the vehicle to Tesla. Inspection. The vehicle is not been inspected by an insurance company or Tesla. Warnings. We did not see any warning lights or alerts concerning the problem. After the first two incidents, we paid attention to the screen to see if any warnings appeared to help us identify the problem.
While on auto pilot, phantom braking at high speeds on highway with no cars nearby. No warning on the monitor when this happens. Long wait at the service center for appointment but this issue has been communicated to Tesla. Car resumes the cruise speed almost immediately after phantom braking. Also communicated to Tesla is that the wipers do not always automatically come on with moisture on windshield when set in auto mode.
When on Traffic-aware cruise control, the vehicle suddenly brakes without warning, instantly reducing its highway speed by 7 to 12 mph. It occurs on the interstate, often while passing large vehicles, and on two-lane roads, usually when meeting large vehicles. Recently, as I was moving in front of a vehicle I had just passed, my car slammed on the brakes, causing the other vehicle to brake sharply to avoid hitting me. We have had the vehicle serviced by Tesla twice with no improvement. The service rep indicated it is a known problem that they have not yet been able to solve (unlike the manufacturers of my prior six vehicles with adaptive cruise control). This is a life-endangering fault and needs to be fixed. It is as dangerous as the rolling-stop issue that prompted a recall.
Model Y exhibits "phantom braking" when adaptive cruise control is engaged. This happens every time a large truck is passing in the opposite lane on a two lane road. If another driver is behind our vehicle, they may not be able to stop to avoid a crash. Corrective action is to turn off adaptive cruise control or step on accelerator to override the braking. In addition, the car will also perform "phantom braking" when there is no discernible issue, with no traffic in front of our vehicle or sometimes on a left turn when there is a guard rail on the right.
Was driving using Autopilot eastbound on WA State Highway 970 about 10 am on January 15, 2022. The road is a 2 line state highway. We were driving about 55 mph. A semi trailer truck rig approached in the opposite lane headed west. Just before the truck passed by us, without warning, our car began to brake hard. The truck and our car were both well within our respective lanes. It had been wet and there was spray from the truck. I immediately disengaged Autopilot. Fortunately, there was no traffic behind me, so the sudden hard braking did not affect anyone else. I have not taken the vehicle in for any inspection as it was delivered less than a month earlier. Since this appears to be a software issue, I have not had the problem reproduced.
My Tesla has been braking for no reason. This weekend we took a road trip to Sun Valley. Once in a while when cresting a hill my car would go into hard braking. It would also do this when a semi or larger vehicle was coming in the opposite direction on a two lane road. The lane departure system would also become disabled for no apparent reason. The wipers are the worst. They have no concept of automatic, there will be no rain and they will start wiping on high. And sometimes when there is rain they won't even wipe, I have to operate them manually. This is very distracting and makes hard to focus on the road.
The Tesla Model Y and I believe the Model 3 have a problem with phantom breaking. The problem occurs when we set the auto to cruise control on a two-lane highway. When we meet a large object (semi, garbage truck, propane truck) the car breaks and swerves to the right. This can create a very dangerous situation. The first couple of times this happened we almost lost control of the car. There is no warning before this happens. This problem can be easily replicated on cars without radar. It took us some time to determine what was causing the problem. We picked up our new Tesla Model last week and were not made aware of what would happen if we used cruise control on a two-lane road. We have since discovered that this is a known problem in the Tesla community and has been known for some time.
Phantom Braking is real and out of control… I have owned this car only 6 weeks and the cruise control is DANGEROUS. The car has slammed on the brakes numerous times for NO reason ! Last week, driving down interstate, TACC on. Nothing near me. Relaxed, happy, enjoying the car…….WHAM! it slammed on the brakes so hard my wife and I were pushed into our seat belts, my hands came off the steering wheel and our heads were thrown forward. Almost instantly the brakes released, the car surges forward and our heads are flung back. A nerve was pinched in my neck during that whiplash and now my right shoulder muscle has been tensed up for days. Guess what? It happened again today. This system needs to be fixed, auto braking disabled, or pulled off the market. How can ANYBODY think this is OK?
Phantom braking concern with new Tesla model Y. While driving on two lane highway at night between Las Vegas and Phoenix both directions on separate days phantom blacking makes the adaptive cruise control unusable. Almost every time a vehicle is spotted approaching at a distance the car will suddenly hard brake. My concern is being rear ended by someone if they are close behind. This is not with FSD just adaptive cruise.
Phantom breaking. When I am driving my vehicle in both cruise control, and autopilot I experience these very very dangerous symptoms. On 2 lane highways is the worst. When I see a semi truck oncoming my vehicle will go from the 65MPH speed limit and SLAM on the brakes sending me from 65-15 MPH immediately. Have almost been rear ended 10+ times in 3,000 miles of owning the vehicle! This is the most dangerous machine I have ever driven. Tesla needs to fix this. It has to do with them removing the radar and going to camera only autopilot. My other older teslas with radar do not do this. There’s no on at Tesla to talk to other than to tweet at Elon musk on twitter and hope he sees it. Ridiculous.
With AutoPilot engaged both during the day and at night, though more frequently at night, and driving on two lane highways, the car automatically brakes sometimes very hard causing your neck to snap forward, whenever it detects oncoming traffic. This is amplified at dusk and at night. There is no warning or time to override this. Making the vehicle dangerous to driver, occupants, or cars travelling behind the Tesla. Tesla claims that this is a known issue, but other brands with similar safety mechanisms do not have this "Phantom Braking' condition.
Adaptive Cruise Control was unusable without consistent phantom breaking issues. Brand new car driving home a few hours I encountered phantom breaking on 2 lane and 4 lane highways during the night and during the day. It was so consistent that I basically could not use the cruise control at all as it was unsafe to have the car randomly break when at highway speeds with nothing in front of me and vehicle behind me. There is no way to turn off and leave off the adaptive part that effects the breaking and simply use a set speed cruise control.
Model Y consistently slams on the brakes while on standard cruise control mode despite there being no cars or hazards around the vehicle. It happens at highway speeds and is very frightening and it’s worrisome that it will one day cause a major accident if someone is ever following too close.
While adaptive cruise control is engaged, the system seems to incorrectly interpret a potential head-on collision and brakes hard and usually plays the alarm sound. I've had this car around two months and have found that this usually happens on a two-lane highway while traveling at 50-60 mph and when a box truck or larger is approaching from the opposite direction. It's worst when the sun is bright and casts a shadow of the truck and trailer across my lane. But it occasionally happens at night and when conditions are cloudy. I have to keep my foot over the accelerator pedal and force the car to keep speed, especially if there is a car close behind me. Otherwise, I'm scared I'll cause the tailing car to hit me. It's not as bad if there is a car in front of me. If no cars are in front of me, and cars are behind me, I'll disengage adaptive cruise in order to avoid causing a collision. I have not had Tesla look into this, however, I have seen comments online that others experience this problem as well.
Sudden abrupt braking for no reason when on adaptive cruise control and autopilot very dangerous for drivers behind me
AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING with Adaptive cruise control on. I was driving with adaptive cruise control on, at about 50 mph on a two lane road. the first experience I had was at dusk on a straight road when oncoming traffic with headlights seemed to trigger the braking system changing the speed of the car by about 10 mph repeatedly but not every car or truck. When I entered a curvy road section, it didn't trigger the brakes. The second experience was around noonish on a straight road, a large oncoming truck seemed to trigger the Automatic emergency braking and brought me suddenly to almost a stop from 50 mph. I looked behind me and saw no one close to rear ending me but it was scary to almost stop in the middle of my lane. no confirmation by dealer or service center, no inspection by others, no messages or other symptoms prior to the failure. No chimes or warning when it happened. The first experience appeared January 14, 2022 with approximately 350 miles on the new car. The second experience happened January 19th with approximately 450 miles on the car.
On January 19th, around 9:35-9:40am, while driving on Bollinger Canyon Road in San Ramon, the car jerked as if someone rear-ended it and then stopped abruptly in the middle of a busy road. The information screen displayed various error messages regarding battery and drive system. The stop was abrupt and we could have been seriously injured in busy traffic. This was a scary experience. The car had 260 miles range in the battery and no prior warnings/ messages indicating any problem. We called 911 and Tesla roadside assistance for help. San Ramon PD showed up and blocked the lane to avoid someone hitting our car. They had the car towed to the nearest Tesla Service Center in Dublin, CA. While waiting for the tow truck, we attempted to restart the car and computer system two times but the car did not go into "Drive" position to be moved. The service center is diagnosing the problem and have informed us that it could be a problem with the motor or drive terrain or inverter of the car. All these are major and crucial components on the car for safe and normal operation. Failure of any of these is catastrophic and can be fatal on freeway speeds or local roads if someone is following too closely and the car stops abruptly. We usually have kids in the car and this is a scary situation to imagine. This needs to be investigated in more detail by someone to find out how many card suffer this fate and how many accidents/ fatalities have been caused by something like this.
Driving on 2 Lane Rd. Using Traffic Aware Cruise Control (TACC). 45-50 MPH. Vehicle will brake suddenly when a large vehicle cement truck, school bus approaches in opposite lane. It also happens when I am passing a bicyclist on my right side. It also happens intermittently but not as severely when there is nothing around me. This is a very dangerous situation because of the possibility of a rear end collision caused by the sudden braking. It is a reoccurring problem. I have not contacted Tesla as I assume that was a known problem. There was no advance warning of the braking.
2022 Tesla Model Y Long Range frequently experiences "phantom braking" and false emergency braking. Even without the use of "autopilot," the vehicle will abruptly slow down or even hard brake. No warnings, no messages, nothing. Each time, there is nothing in front of the vehicle, no curves, clear weather, etc. In another scenario, such as driving down a neighborhood street with curves, it thinks you are going to hit a parked car, and slams on the brakes as well. At least here you do get an alert indicating what the car was thinking. Even though it was clearly mistaken. Had it properly accounted for steering position, would have realized there was no danger. This is all extremely dangerous and is just asking for an accident due to being rear-ended. In addition, there have been many complaints about this on the forum for years, and even the latest software updates have not resolved.
After taking the vehicle on a road trip through Canada, the vehicle’s heating and cooling system failed. We had been driving for ~15 hours. The error message was VCFRONT_a447 Cabin Climate control system requires service. This is a safety issue for traveling in cold climates as well as eliminating fog on the windshield that would cause a driver to lose visibility. A two button reset did not resolve the issue. A hard reset seemed to, but 15 minutes back onto the road, we saw the same error message again, and the heating no longer was warm. Please take action to ensure the safety of drivers and passengers.
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Traffic Aware Cruise Control and Autopilot How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Yes. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? It has been confirmed by Tesla. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? No. 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 lights. The issue appeared a couple of days after I took delivery of my Tesla Model Y. Please read for details below. This car is UNDRIVEABLE due to its Traffic Aware Cruise Control (TACC) System. Tesla does not provide a basic Cruise Control that just conforms to a set speed. A driver is left with no option but to use their TACC or Autopilot both of which are utter garbage. Every couple or so miles my Model Y slows down in the best case scenario or slams the brakes for no apparent reason in the worst case scenario. My car has made me and my passengers sick because of this issue. Not to mention that at multiple occasions while driving on a highway my car has slammed the brakes when there was NOTHING in front of it, almost causing the car coming behind me to almost rear-end us. This is dangerous and stressful for my family and I and for people who drive behind my car. This is a massive safety issue which makes the car un-usable for long drives. Even the most basic car from the 1990s has a cruise control yet Tesla does not provide that option in their cars. So a person has to resort to using the TACC or Autopilot both of which are useless and dangerous because of this phantom braking issue. Please have Tesla provide a fix for this dangerous problem. This makes my car un-usable for long drives. Please help!!
Vehicle was sold to me on 12/23/2021 (winter) in Paramus NJ. Tesla did not notify or otherwise inform me that this Performance Model Y comes with summer tires. A week ago my wife found she had little to no traction on wheels while going to work - she almost had an accident. A friend told me i might have summer tires. Tesla website has no info on this topic. After contact Tesla support they confirmed that this vehicle has summer Tires. I think Tesla is putting drivers in danger by letting them drive off the lot in summer tires during winter months and not informing them of it. Additionally, the summer tires immediately loose warranty when used in temperatures below 40 degrees.
I drive on a 2 lane undivided highway/road. When I have cruise control activated I have severe braking occurring when I drive past any larger truck/bus. It has almost caused me to be rear ended on more than one occasion.
Heat stop working in MN where the temperature are in the negative or single digit.
The side pillar cameras on the Tesla are not sealed and contain moisture. I live in Minnesota and this moisture will frost over in cold weather, thereby blocking these cameras and disengage autopilot while driving or make it unusable.
The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving at 50 - 60 MPH, the headlights inadvertently turned off for a few seconds. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed that the computer data showed the high-beam was turning on and off but not the low-beam. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 440.
The issue is with the standard self driving. When it is engaged while driving on the freeway it will randomly slams on the breaks. Very dangerous as someone could have rear ended me from behind. This occurs randomly and makes using this feature very dangerous!! I feel they should disengage the self driving until it gets fully tested.
I got hit very hard by a seat. Here is what happened: I was sitting in the right-side-2nd-row seat while trying to figure out how to adjust the left-side-2nd-row seat position in order to accommodate a child seat and look for a missing item. I had not brought in the child seat yet, I was still playing around with the controls to see if I understood how the seats could adjust and move. I couldn't figure out how to fold the seat down. The button at the top of the left-seat did not fold the seat. I thought that the 2nd-row-middle seat back rest might be blocking the folding, so I was able to release the middle-back-rest and folded that down. I crawled over to the left seat and searched around the side and found the button that could be pressed. With only a slight push, the seat released and very quickly came down and whacked me in the head, snapping my neck a bit. The hit was pretty hard, and it came at me very fast. I couldn’t really react. I was pinned briefly. My head hurt a bit, so I had to sit in the house for 2 hours to let the shock settle. On hindsight, I am lucky that the metal rod that connected to the middle seat did not whack me in the skull at that force, since I had exposed it by folding the middle back-rest down. I also think that the spring force might be too excessive, if my kid had triggered that while on the seat, the child might have been seriously injured. I may have been too complacent due to prior experience with other vehicles releasing the seat to fold from the top.
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Answer: AutoPilot / TACC - over the first 800 miles I've used this car for, AutoPilot has not worked correctly in the day or night. There is a hesitation once every 5-10 miles. There is a forward collision warning without reason approximately every 20 miles, day or night. Upon request, the NHTSA may contact me and I will provide off-board videos of the claims within this complaint. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Answer: There is a sudden braking for no apparent reason. There is a good possibility of being rear ended when behind a Vision only Tesla. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? The problem has occurred multiple times over the 700 mile ownership of the car. Tesla’s remote service team insists that “These are known limitations of autopilot in some conditions”. “Reviewing my vehicle it is not reporting any faults, all cameras are reporting calibrated and the pitch angles are within speciation.” A test drive to confirm these settings was offered and accepted. The test drive confirmed Tesla’s opinion that the car was fine. The car has received three software OTA updates since I’ve received the car and I have catalogued similar issues with every update. After having Tesla inspect the car, they returned it to me without confirming any changes. Issues persist after inspection. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? The manufacturer has inspected the car and found no faults. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? There were no warning lights, apart from Forward collision warnings that occurred at the time of use.
Passenger side b-pillar camera has condensation inside the glass and does not allow for it to opperate.
Driving on two-lane highway, speed limit 55mph, with Tesla traffic aware cruise control enabled. Multiple instances of the car automatically applying heavy braking when cresting a hill or when a large vehicle oncoming. These incidents occurred when there was no traffic immediately ahead in my traveled lane. Luckily there wasn't a vehicle following me closely or I could've been hit from behind.
While on cruise control the car brakes aggressively with oncoming traffic and when passing large vehicles on the highway. No way to disable this feature to use a standard cruise control. This seems to be a problem mostly with large vehicles on the road.
When using cruise control on normal two way traffic roads during the day or at night: the car will brake aggressively because of proper oncoming traffic from the other lane. The system has been very poorly designed such that it only works on wide separated highways and there is no way to switch off this feature. I have already had two near accidents where the vehicle behind me didn’t expect my car to slow down so quickly for no reason. This is extremely dangerous.
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Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.