NHTSA Complaint #11692469 — 2026 TESLA MODEL Y

I would like to formally report several incidents I have experienced with my newly purchased Tesla Model Y. I acquired the vehicle on [XXX], collected it from Washington D.C., and drove it back to Houston between September 20 and 21. Prior to my return journey, I conducted a test drive. During this drive, at dusk, I engaged Full Self-Driving (FSD) mode. The vehicle stopped appropriately at a traffic light; however, once the light turned green, it moved forward but veered into the yellow safety buffer zone located between the lanes of opposing traffic. I intervened by manually steering the car back into the correct lane. A similar occurrence happened in Washington D.C. while attempting a left turn under a highway overpass—the vehicle again crossed into the yellow lines. These incidents suggest that the FSD system did not reliably detect the yellow lane markers. On the weekend of [XXX], during my drive to Houston, I primarily used FSD. While navigating a road construction zone, the system failed to recognize large safety cones (yellow columns) and nearly collided with them. Fortunately, I was attentive and promptly took control, braked, and changed lanes to avoid an accident. This demonstrated the FSD’s inability to identify these safety markers. On Tuesday, [XXX], I drove the vehicle to work and returned home using FSD. As I exited the highway onto a ramp merging with frontage lanes, I observed that FSD did not reduce speed appropriately and nearly made contact with vehicles on the frontage road. This indicates that the system was unable to interpret the ramp as a short section intended for deceleration and safe merging. On [XXX], while returning home in the evening after work, I used FSD due to light traffic. The vehicle navigated turns and stops satisfactorily and paused roadside before my house. When I resumed manual control to park, the vehicle suddenly became unresponsive, accelerated onto my front yard, struck the flower bed stones, INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5