NHTSA Complaint #11658497 — 2021 TESLA MODEL Y

While reversing in this 2021 Tesla Model Y (software v12, 2025.14.1, Full Self-Driving Supervised), the vehicle’s ultrasonic sensors showed a wall directly behind on the display. However, the Tesla Vision camera system did not visually render the wall, and neither Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) nor Obstacle-Aware Acceleration activated. The car reversed under driver input directly into the wall, causing a collision with property damage. The safety defect appears to be that the ultrasonic sensors, although still present and visually displayed, are no longer integrated into the collision avoidance systems after Tesla’s software updates activating Tesla Vision. As a result, the AEB and OAA systems seem to rely only on camera data, ignoring ultrasonic sensor input — leaving a dangerous blind spot in reverse. This problem affects safety because the driver receives no warning that AEB or OAA will not engage based on ultrasonic detection alone. Tesla’s updated owner manuals (2023.12) state that AEB is now designed to work in reverse, but in this case, the system failed. The issue has not yet been inspected by Tesla or a dealer but appears reproducible on vehicles with ultrasonic sensors running Tesla Vision software. This is likely a widespread defect affecting 2020–2022 Tesla Model 3, Y, S, and X vehicles equipped with ultrasonic sensors but updated via software. There were no warning lights or system alerts before the failure. I request NHTSA investigate whether Tesla’s software has disabled or failed to integrate ultrasonic sensor data into rear collision avoidance, creating an undisclosed safety risk for owners.