NHTSA Complaint #11501405 — 2021 TESLA MODEL 3

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING issue reported to NHTSA

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Complaint Details

ODI Number 11501405
Vehicle 2021 TESLA MODEL 3
Component FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Date of Incident
Date Filed
Mileage N/A miles
Crash No
Fire No
Injuries 0
Deaths 0
Vehicle Towed No
State WA

Consumer Description

While driving on an otherwise unobstructed road, with no nearby obstacles on a Rural South Dakota Interstate, the vehicle suddenly slammed on breaks in an unsafe fashion, forcing the vehicle behind us to swerve to evade our car. We were told by Tesla service that sometimes, "road shimmering" can cause this behavior, and there is no remedy available. In response to this, I gunned the accelerator to try and remedy the issue, hitting unsafe speeds before being able to fully return control to the vehicle. This was NOT while using the vehicle's autopilot system for FSD (which was available on the car), but adaptive cruise control, though the same issue happens with FSD regularly. This is not the first instance of this happening (I have stopped using cruise control and FSD on the vehicle since), but the first time it seriously endangered myself and another driver.

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