2021 TESLA MODEL Y Forward Collision Avoidance Adaptive Cruise Control Problems

When driving with cruise control engaged the car randomly brakes and shows a "curvature assist " indication. The car quickly slows from 55 to 35 with no warning. This primary happens on a straight road, not a curve. I am concerned about the traffic behind me.

In early Nov 2025 my Tesla Model Y began intermittently showing warnings about the forward collision warning system and multiple sensors being offline. Tesla service replaced a faulty connector on Nov 3. On Nov 15, 2025, about two weeks later, the car had a sudden drivetrain failure while I was parking on a steep hill. I heard a loud bang from the front of the car and the vehicle immediately lost drive power and had to be towed. Tesla diagnosed a failed front motor inverter that blew the high-voltage pyrofuse and damaged the 12V battery; they replaced those parts. The vehicle is available for inspection and the repaired components and records are with Tesla. After that repair the car needed another visit for alignment and has continued to show worrying behavior: “VCFRONT offline/unable to contact VCFRONT” in the service menu, repeated “autopilot computer overheating” messages, intermittent loss or reduction of...

The car has a feature called "curvature assist" that takes control of braking and steering at times when using cruise control. The incidents are at times surprising as there is no curvature present but the braking is suddenly applied. This is a surprise for both the driver and any following traffic. The car would be safer if this feature could be disabled but that is not possible.

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system has repeatedly demonstrated unsafe behavior in my 2021 Model Y (VIN [XXX] , ~60,184 miles). The issues involve Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Keeping Assistance, and Forward Collision Warning. FSD frequently follows vehicles too closely, leaving insufficient distance. When I disengage, I am left with no safe option: braking hard risks being rear-ended and triggers a hard-braking event, while lifting off the accelerator leaves me dangerously close, still flagged as unsafe following. FSD often waits until less than a mile before highway exits to attempt lane changes, causing last-second darting, missed exits, or unsafe maneuvers. It also performs excessive and unnecessary lane changes that add risk without improving efficiency. Merges are frequently unsafe, forcing me to brake hard to let others pass or accelerate aggressively to avoid being cut off. On several occasions, FSD has jerked or swerved into adjacent lanes without signaling, seemingly triggered by...

Immediately after an over-the-air (OTA) update on Aug 8, 2025, my vehicle began showing camera connection errors and disabled multiple safety/ADAS features. Over the following days, I repeatedly received alerts that AEB was unavailable. The vehicle remained drivable, but AEB and related safety functions were inactive. Chronology: Aug 8, 2025: OTA software update to 2025.26.6 completed. Right after completion, the touchscreen displayed camera connection errors and disabled AEB / Autopilot / cruise control. Aug 11, 2025: While driving, I again received an “AEB unavailable” alert. Similar alerts appeared intermittently throughout the week. There was no water intrusion, impact, or external damage. Cameras were clean and unobstructed. I scheduled the earliest available Tesla Service appointment and reported the AEB failure as a safety issue. Service diagnosis: Tesla diagnosed a failure of the Autopilot computer (HW3) and ordered a replacement. Cost/coverage: I requested that the repair be covered by Tesla because the...

The Adaptive cruse control would stop working off an on. also it would give false land departure warnings causing driver to swerve thinking they were going to run into another care

Several times on residential speed control the system does not recognize yellow flashing school speed reduction signs. Never slows or breaks. The speed of 25 mph does not register on the screed (other speed signs do). I told tesla service center when other services were being done. They said they were aware. I have seen no improvement over the last several months

Autopilot suddenly slams on the brakes going [XXX] on [XXX] just north of Ankeny, IA when you hit the underpass at [XXX] [XXX] , [XXX] ). This happens every time for the past year about. No software update has fixed this yet. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Since March 2024, FSD has failed to function as designed. Tesla denied any problem with the vehicle until October 2024, when a manager told me it's a known issue with no available fix. The issue started with FSD not recognizing traffic signals. Meaning that regardless of whether a traffic light was green or red, the vehicle would treat it like an 4 way stop. It would come to a stop and then proceed through the intersection if it didn't detect immediate cars. This was dangerous and Tesla refused to acknowledge the problem for months. Since then the issue has evolved with FSD only engaging in certain situations (interstate driving). As of the most recent update, FSD won't engage at all.

This complaint addresses the recent changes made to the cruise control system in Tesla vehicles, as per NHTSA guidance in 2024. While the update aims to simplify the activation of enhanced cruise control, it introduces significant disadvantages and safety risks that need to be addressed. 1. Cruise Control Activation Update: NHTSA Guidance: In 2024, Tesla was required to modify the activation process for enhanced cruise control, allowing it to be engaged with a single pull when the option is selected. There are two options available: single pull and double pull. Advantages:  The update simplifies the process, enabling users to activate enhanced cruise control with a single pull, which is more convenient and user-friendly. Disadvantages:  When the enhanced cruise control is activated and the turn signal is engaged, the system automatically deactivates.  This deactivation causes the vehicle to stop maintaining its set speed, leading to a slowdown or...

To Whom It May Concern: I am writing to report yet another dangerous incident of phantom braking in my Tesla vehicle. As a Tesla owner who has previously filed multiple complaints about this issue, I am deeply concerned and frustrated by the lack of resolution to this potentially life-threatening problem. Today, I experienced a terrifying phantom braking event that nearly resulted in a catastrophic accident. I was driving on a completely empty road with no traffic in sight - no vehicles behind me, none in front, and none approaching from any direction. Suddenly, without any apparent trigger, my Tesla aggressively applied the brakes, violently decelerating from approximately 25 mph to just 3 mph in a matter of seconds. This abrupt and unnecessary braking action caught me entirely off guard. The force of the deceleration threw me forward, and I narrowly avoided losing control of the vehicle. Had there been any...

Twice, while in full self-driving mode on I-395, my Tesla has made the potentially fatal mistake of trying to turn the vehicle directly into the closed gates of the so-called "hot lanes" (which separate the north and sound bound lanes) and into on-coming highway traffic on those lanes. This is a serious safety issue that must be fixed IMMEDIATELY. This happened most recently on Sunday October 20, 2024, when I was driving south-bound on I-395 with my wife and son in the car. I was in the far left lane with "full self driving" activated. The hot lanes were to our left with all traffic on those lanes driving northbound. The gates to the hot lanes were closed to southbound traffic to prevent someone from driving directly into oncoming traffic. Shortly before we were about to pass those closed gates, the Tesla left indicator light came on and the car...

This morning when operating on FSD trail version, at tye stop sign I had to make left. This is at intersection of Rueslane and Old bridge Turnpike of East Brunswick, NJ. My car started to make a left when there was an incoming car from the left, and they do.not have to stop. Thank fully the car on the left applied instant brakes and avoided tye accident. FsD failed to make right judgement if left turn was possible or not. Fsd version is v12.3.6

My Tesla still has the phantom braking problem. It is repeatable and consistent. I can tell when it will occur on a route that I drive regularly. Day or night does not seem to alter the occurrence. There is no indication on the touch screen when this occurs. Traffic volume does not matter. It always occurs at the same places so it should be relatively easy to fix if someone would just monitor my computer when it occurs. I regard this as a dangerous problem on the freeway because my car suddenly slows and if the person behind me is not paying attention, I am going to be rear ended. Such a serious fault for a vehicle that performs so well otherwise. Since Tesla does not have a service center in my town no one has offered to look at the problem but since it has been reported so often,...

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? System computer. After a Over the Air (OTA) update, most driver assistive functions are inoperative. System feedback display sometime goes black (speedometer, controls, backup camera, etc). After manufacturer serviced car to verify and resolve issue, issue was not corrected. Screen continues to error, asking for a software update. Per the manufacturer this is a computer issue with the cache, and being told to replace computer. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Since the driver feedback display and cameras are sometimes non-functional. Back up camera can be unusable, lane keeping, and cruise control are inoperative. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? By an manufacturer repair center....

Driving [XXX] enroute to Houston from Peoria, AZ, on cruise control, the auto braking activated aka ghost braking, causing the car to extremely brake. No other cars or trucks near us and no signs in area that might affect cruise control. I thought this was fixed! Totally unsafe. Luckily no one was behind us. This happened a lot back in mid 2021 and to have it still happen is hazardous. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Tesla FSD consistently ignores temporary lane closures, and will cheerfully try to drive over the barrier poles. The locale is the San Diego Pure Water Project construction zones. They set up lane closures that change every week or so. They use a line of red poles along the middle of the road to block off a lane and direct both lanes of traffic into one lane. Sometimes there is also a large CLOSED sign in the middle of the closed lane. Tesla never sees the red poles and often does not see the CLOSED sign. I attach several photos each showing both the Tesla screen and reality in the same image. (Unless Tesla fixes this soon) I can send you lots more photos if you wish.

Tesla removed the ability to use only cruise control, with adaptive following distance, and have forced the only option to now use full self driving instead (with a recent soft-ware update). I do NOT feel safe using full self driving (even supervised) and believe Tesla is being unsafe forcing full self driving use. We used to be able to just use cruise control-with adaptive following distance-a driving option in all other recent cars!!! , but cannot do that now in Tesla? Why would a company take away what I consider to be a safer option?? This is not an improvement (but a forced help-Tesla-improve-it’s-unsafe-full self-driving-software!)

Vehicle not acting safely, speeding up to pass stopped school bus with stop sign out and yellow lights flashing. This is a generic VIN as it applies to the current software on all FSD cars.

Since December when Tesla did their software update to supposedly make my car safer, I have been BURIED in warnings to keep my hands on the steering wheel and my eyes on the road. It seems like every 25-30 seconds, if I even glance over at the speedometer, I get a red "keep your hands on the steering wheel" / "Pay attention" warning. This is ridiculous. These distracting notifications could cause an accident.

March 31 I received an email from Tesla that I had been selected to participate in a free Full Self Driving (FSD) trial. I have no interest in FSD, and there was no way to opt out of this trial. At some point FSD was downloaded on to my Model Y as part of a regular software update. I was not given the opportunity to accept or refuse this particular feature. While both of these events feel wrong to me, it did not rise to the level of reporting to NHTSA until I realized Tesla had also ENABLED FSD on my car. In other words they switched my configuration from Auto Pilot to Full Self Drive, presumably as part of the software update that downloaded the software on to my vehicle. One could argue that because two features on my screen were different I was able to figure out my...

The most recent recall and modifications to Autopilot have dramatically reduced subjective safety. I am more distracted by warnings and interventions by the system. The system is less able to adapt to changing conditions. It seemed to be far more effective from a safety standpoint prior to the recall. People were and are the problem with autopilot, not autopilot. As with people, it made/makes mistakes. But an attentive driver easily corrects. Full Self Drive is different, but if any driver has ever been under the illusion that autopilot does not require full attention, it is the driver's fault.

Since installing the update for 23V-838; TC2023-657 compliance, you guys have absolutely ruined autopilot. Your regulatory overreach has resulted in my task workload increasing while using any ADAS systems Tesla supplies, and multiple times I have reached task saturation from the number of nags, alerts, and prompts that have appeared since applying the 23V-838; TC2023-657 update. In some cases I have engaged autopilot, been nagged, wiggled the wheel which disengaged, re-engaged, been nagged, wiggled the wheel which disengaged, re-engaged, 3 times in a row. I have benchmarked almost every other ADAS system on the market and you [XXX] have somehow regulated tesla auto pilot into a place where it has literally the most frequent nags, alerts, prompts, and annoyances of anything on the market. Ask yourselves whether you honestly think nags that audibly prompt and distract the driver for merely glancing at the autopilot set speed, briefly adjusting the map,...

Tesla Autopilot lost control in rainy weather, swerved off the road on freeway at 80mph, swung back in the leftmost lane and then to shoulder, risking lives of driver and all passengers including 2 children. Impact resulted in broken wheel rims and bursted tires. This could have been fatal accident if there are other cars on the road at the time of incident. There were absolutely no warning on the screen and near zero time to react with vehicle wheels turning sharp left at 80mph. Footage though immediately visible on DashCam has disappeared from USB drive. Requested vehicle logs from Tesla but that too has gap in coverage exactly during time of accident. Tesla Service Center has not responded to request to get system log at the time of accident. Missing logs and camera footage exactly at the time of incident is suspiciously missing. Footage and logs are available for...

While driving on highways using adaptive cruise control, the vehicle will slow down quickly from highway speeds of 60 to 75 mph, down to 40 or 45 mph without the presence of an obstruction in front, such as a vehicle, or even a shadow, that could fool the vehicle’s camera. This puts us at risk of being rear-ended on the highway. The problem happens randomly. I have reported the issue to Tesla twice. It happened once while on the phone with a Tesla representative that had called me back regarding my reported complaint. The Tesla rep said they were aware of the issue and were working on correcting the issue via a software issue. Tesla has cancelled my requests for service appointments regarding this issue. In September of 2023 we attempted to use the cruise control to see if it had been repaired but it happened again. There were no...

After the latest recall (campaign #23V-838), the automated warnings while using autosteer becomes so frequently that it becomes distractingly dangerous. Even when i briefly avert my eyes while driving on an empty highway results in the warnings

Subject: Safety Concerns Regarding Recent Model y Autopilot Update To Whom It May Concern at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), I am writing to urgently express my concerns about the latest software update for the Tesla Model Y’s autopilot system, which, in my view, significantly compromises safety. As a Model 3 owner for over one year, I have generally found the vehicle and its features to be reliable and safe. However, the recent update has introduced an overly stringent hands-on-wheel detection mechanism that is not only inconvenient but also potentially hazardous. The new update requires frequent and often forceful interaction with the steering wheel to assure the system of driver presence. This change is drastically different from my previous experience, where I received only one hands-on-wheel violation in two years. The current sensitivity of the system disrupts the smooth operation of the autopilot, leading to frequent and abrupt...

After Tesla software update 2023.44.30.2, the rear back up camera no longer works. It’s just a black screen. Failure first occurred on 12/20/2023. Also, Tesla “Auto pilot” no longer works (cruise control and lane assist). Support team could not fix both issues. Have a service appointment scheduled on 12/27/2023. Thank you and happy holidays.

My car has had a problem with TACC since the day I bought it. Brakes aggressively in what should be a normal driving situation. For instance, when I pass a semi truck on the interstate with my own lane in front of me, the car will slam on the brakes when it is beside the truck. Highly likely to cause a rear end collision.

Car will, without warning brake aggressively while in cruise control, without pressure applied to brake. No other factors on road, except cars behind. This occurs frequently when car is driven in autopilot. Car will, without warning accelerate to a high speed without pressure applied to the accelerator. This acceleration is stopped with pressure being immediately applied to brake.

While in cruise control, car will randomly suddenly brake without warning or visible obstacle. This has been an ongoing problem ever since buying the vehicle in 2021. Very dangerous as it has happened on the highway. Is startling and causes seat belt locking. I have reported the issue to Tesla and it's apparently a "limitation of software". We usually do not use cruise control in the Tesla because of the dangerous of this, but I decided to try again recently in hopes they had fixed it but to no avail.

When travelling with adaptive speed control enabled the car will suddenly and violently decelerate 30 to 50 MPH below the set speed. This happens frequently and does not appear to correlate with anything specific. Sometimes it happens when passing a large white truck. Sometimes there is no other traffic anywhere near me. At the very least I would like Tesla to give me the option of disabling the "safety" features so the car operates like every other car with adaptive cruse control. This is not just me. Search the internet for Tesla phantom braking and you will find many instances going back years. It seems to be getting worse with each software update.

Driving with cruise control on the car would suddenly brake for no reason. Sometimes it was just a quick brake for a second or two but multiple times the car braked hard enough to have things in the car fly off the seats. These incidents happened on 9/5/2023. Needless to say we didn't use the cruise control after that, we are just glad no cars were behind us at the time. If this helps, we did use cruise control on a trip on 6/24/2023 with no issues.

When autopilot is engaged (I don't know if just cruise does this) on a highway entrance set to a reasonable speed like 35 or 45, as I approach the acceleration ramp the setting jumps to 90 and then quickly back to 85. I've found no reason to beleive that the car won't accelerate up to 85. There is no way for the driver to make such a jump. Driver is only able to jump in 1 or 5 mph increments. I have no trouble disengaging autopilot, but still... This has been going on for weeks, and despite a software update or two. I can provide video of this happening but I don't think I can upload it here.

This has occurred on three different occasions. I was driving on highway five on the way to Sacramento, and as I was passing a truck, I was in the fast lane, and the brakes came on, and the car slowed drastically. I was very lucky that I was able to hit the gas pedal to try to maintain speed so that I would not be rear-ended. I had the cruise control on. It is adaptive cruise control, there were no warning lights , and there was no indication to me that something was about to happen. This occurred on two other occasions always when the cruise control was on. I have not used the cruise control very much at all. I am afraid that the phantom breaking it will occur.

Driving Down freeway at 70 mph when my car stopped immediately ! No one or nothing in front of me . 6 cars behind me and everyone swerved to avoid me or they would have hit me. I was terrified. I called Tesla and they said it was “phantom breaking”. It happens to model 3/Y from 2021 and 2022. It happened 2x in an 8 hr period. July 22, 2023

Phantom Braking. When there are refractions on the road seen in my lane in bright sunshine. Also in a 2-lane highway with oncoming vehicles that have lots of chrome also in bright sunshine. Never happens at night or when cruise control not enabled.

I was on the highway with cruise set to 80. With no vehicles anywhere near in front of me, the car brakes hard and the cruise was set to 50. I was able to gain control by hitting the accelerator but slowed down quickly from the phantom breaking.

Approximately 11:26 am on Thursday July 27, and approximately 110 miles east of Gallup, New Mexico, I experienced when driving a 2021 Tesla Model Y, a series of extreme phantom braking events. One phantom braking event resulted in an extreme braking and the car gave a loud alarm signal. This happened while passing two rather closely spaced semi-trailer trucks that were in the right lane of the interstate highway 40 roadway going westbound. Both trucks were traveling without making any unusual movements. They were steadily traveling between 70 and 80 mph. There was a large SUV following our vehicle. This event resulted in an extremely hazardous condition. A high-speed rear-end collision was imminent. I, as the driver of the Model Y, immediately accelerated and steered over to the left-lane shoulder. No collision occurred and I was able to pass the two trucks and return to the right lane. Clearly, this...

sudden braking for no reason when driving with cruise engaged. several occurrence at different times. very dangerous. may be hit in rear

Computer will suddenly error out and cruise control, AEB, forward collision warnings, and lane keep assist are not available. A warning "cruise control unavailable" shows if you attempt to engage autopilot or FSD. No forward collision warnings, no auto slowing down. Not docked for close following. No visualizations made. Not resolved with soft or hard reboot. Sometimes will randomly will allow to re-engage, other times I have to park the car and let it go to sleep without charging or sentry mode for things to reset. I've driven many, multiple times including for 1.5-2hour segments with a frozen visualization and no AEB or cruise control or FSD. Speed independent, weather independent. Time of day independent.

My family and I were driving from San Diego to Arizona on Interstate 8. I was utilizing autopilot (adaptive cruise control with lane keeping assistance) and 4 different times the car slammed on the brakes from approximately 75 mph to 60 mph. We were driving on a bright, sunny, extremely hot day (116 degrees). Luckily there were no cars behind us or we could have been rear-ended. It's also noteworthy, there were no cars/vehicles in front of us or objects in the road when the phantom braking occurred. I now no longer feel safe using autopilot on our Model Y. No warning messages appeared and no additional information was provided by the car. We have used autopilot on several other road trips and never experienced this issue.

I was driving the speed limit with the adaptive cruise control engaged on I-95 in Maine with no one in front of to the sides of me. All of a sudden without warning my car brakes on the middle of the highway. I regained control right after and did not use the adaptive cruise control for the rest of the drive.

Phantom braking in autopilot. Traveling at 75mph with traffic behind, fortunately the car behind was not following closely. No warning message beforehand, just happened very suddenly with no obstructions in sight. Weather was clear and sunny, no traffic in front. Two minutes later, the car completely ignored a deer standing on the hard shoulder!

While driving eastbound on the CA60 freeway and merging onto the Interstate 10 freeway, on a clear sunny day and on a dry road, without another vehicle beside the car, with the 'autopilot' (not full version) engaged, the car suddenly initiated an uncommanded acceleration which required the driver to aggressively depress the brake pedal to stop the acceleration and to disengage the automated driving feature. This sudden acceleration brought the vehicle dangerously close to another vehicle traveling in front before it could be stopped. Witnesses were in the car when this incident occurred.

While driving northbound on the CA111 freeway along an elevated ramp leading to the Interstate 10 freeway, in the evening after sunset, and on a dry road, without another vehicle beside the car, with the 'autopilot' (not full version) engaged, the car suddenly initiated an uncommanded acceleration which required the driver to aggressively depress the brake pedal to stop the acceleration and to disengage the automated driving feature. This sudden acceleration placed the driver and occupants at risk to the car traveling around an elevated tight curve with a ramp speed limit that the car exceeded. Witnesses were in the car when this incident occurred.

While driving at speed (75-80 mph) on Interstate 90 and 80 (different days) auto aggressively applied brakes. No other autos, trucks or obstructions were anywhere close to the car. There was no forewarning the problem was going occur. All occurred in daylight from morning until mid afternoon. I recognize this as phantom braking. Tesla refuses to look at the car because I did not have the exact time the problems occurred, messages from 6/2/23. I am of the opinion if this was Elon's car they would look at it.

For last several months my 2021 Tesla Y is experiencing phantom braking while using cruise control. Happens about once every 50 miles on the highway and occurs on straight roads with no traffic in front or behind and no road hazards. Braking is sudden and hard and represents a significant hazard . Thanks

Driving I-80 on May 9 between 2 - 4 pm going approx 70mph using autopilot. Sudden, unexpected, rapid deceleration causing back seat contents (suitcases & my dog) to fly forward. Nothing in front of me, no visual obstruction, weather clear and sunny. Luckily no one behind me. It felt like I had slammed on the brakes. I did get off highway shortly after to get dog out of where he lodged in back seat.Tesla rep via text messaging said I caused this by tapping accelerator & no need for inspection, but I do not recall doing that. I did receive a message/warning around the approx time I think this occurred stating “Driving visualization temporarily degraded” (I have screenshot.) They did send me the spreadsheet data of that day but I can’t decipher it.

The problem I am writing about is not specific to my Tesla vehicle, but inherent to all Tesla's. I have read in the news about the issue concerning the full AutoPilot with drivers not paying attention figuring the vehicle will drive itself. Although, there is another inherent issue with vehicles without subscribing to AutoPilot while using the cruise control feature resulting in a problem referred to within the Tesla community as "phantom braking." While the cruise control is active and the driver is attentive with hands on the steering wheel, the vehicle intermittently jams on the brakes even though there are no obstacles in the road ahead. The driver and passengers are panicked requiring the driver to immediately respond by pressing the accelerator to avoid being rear-ended. My wife and I have experienced the issue on multiple occasions since owning our Tesla Y since September 2021. We have experienced the...