2021 TESLA MODEL Y Forward Collision Avoidance Automatic Emergency Braking Problems

Since buying the car 6/30/21 the automatic emergency braking has activated >300 times not once was it appropriate. We have had the car back to Tesla Service twice to repair the problem with out any improvement. It is only by luck that we have not had an accident. This is not an effective safety feature and it is increasing the likelihood of an accident. If Tesla cannot fix this it should be forced to deactivating the system

For the last few software updates and for a few months the vehicle will phantom brake and apply aggressive stopping in traffic for no reason when using cruise control, autopilot, or full self driving. Instances have occurred which has nearly caused us to be rear-ended by other vehicles. Additionally the car will turn aggressive when using passing lanes. We have experienced instances where the car will turn into a short right turn lane at highway speeds unexpectedly and then require immediate intervention or the brakes will be applied very hard. These situations are repeatable and occur frequently for no reason.

We've owned this car since delivered in June 2021. Took a trip from AZ to MO in July 2021. When using cruise control, the system occasionally and severely activated the brakes when passing a large vehicle on a four lane divided highway and in some cases no one else was around on the 4 lane divided highway. Auto braking only happened if on cruise control and did not occur if cruise not activated. I mentioned this to a service tech at one of the charging stations in Rolla, MO who indicated it was a known issue and they were working on it. I didn't report it to Tesla thinking it was being handled, but now I see many others reporting it and you dates indicate cars produced prior to April 2021. I'm assuming ours was produced around that time.

I was driving northbound on Highway 1 on 3-18-22 from Ventura California to Clayton California where I live. Four times through my trip the car suddenly decelerated and the brakes were applied automatically for no reason whatsoever there was no traffic in front of me there were no obstacles in front of me there were no hazards in front of me, it was open road and for whatever reason the car auto braked which immediately reduced my speed to a dangerous condition. If I had been in traffic I would’ve been rear ended!

Vehicle brakes randomly at highway speeds while utilizing ADAS. Brakes hard and fast without warning.

Using autopilot on 405 freeway at approximately 60mph. When approaching stopped traffic, I initiated a lane change using the turn signal. Halfway through the lane change the car swerved back into the original lane and slammed on the brakes causing the car behind me to rear end the vehicle. Damage was minor. I reported the incident to tesla on October 17. The original response was to schedule a service appointment. The appointment was later cancelled after I received a message from Tesla legal regarding autopilot. My message to Tesla was deleted from my service history. Tesla autopilot, TACC and FSD are not safe to use on any roads. I have experienced dozens of phantom braking episodes in this car on all types of roads in clear conditions.

The cruise control of Tesla is majorly defective after taking out the Ladar component as it is entirely dependent on cameras. Sudden or phantom braking has been so bad that sometimes I avoid using it. My most recent episode happened last weekend as I was driving at a two way country highway at 50mph to get to the interstate. I was headed south between 9 to 10am. The sun was on my left (east) and there was a truck approaching on the opposite lane. When the truck passed (I guess it cast a huge shadow as it blocked the sun on my left) the car slammed on the brakes. There was no warning. Luckily there were no cars behind immediately behind me, otherwise we would have been rear ended in a possibly fatal accident.

Pulling into a parking space, at very slow speed, pressed service brake to stop car. The car suddenly accelerated at high speed, hit a tree directly in front of the space, veered off and sprinted across another parking space and a two lane passage, hit a brick pillar, veered into the wall of a restaurant, bounced off the wall and back into the street. All airbags deployed. No one was injured. Car probably totaled.

We were driving on I-8 yesterday from California to Arizona and while using cruise control the car kept phantom braking. It happened multiple times - some times the braking was so hard, it threw us and our children forward in their car seats. It was terrifying and almost caused us to get into multiple accidents. There was absolutely no reason for the car to be braking . We tried to notice a pattern. It almost seemed like the car was afraid of its own shadow in front of us (the setting sun was directly behind us at points). But the phantom braking also happened when there was no shadow and nothing at all around. Absolutely terrifying.

While driving from Tucson to Denver the vehicle suddenly decelerated and/or braked no less than hundreds of times with varying rates--sometimes just a couple miles per hour and other times more than 30 miles per hour. These "phantom braking" events were generally on a divided interstate highway with clear visibility, flat, straight roads without rain/snow & oftentimes without another vehicle within 1/2 mile+. These events even happened 3 times within 3-4 minutes while I was speaking to Tesla roadside service trying to disable all sensors/interventions. More than once a vehicle behind me (at highway speeds) thought I was "brake-checking" them and would cause them to honk and deservedly give me a few finger symbols (road rage). There was no reason for the car to suddenly brake; no cars merging or in front of me other than light vehicle traffic in the opposite direction of the DIVIDED interstate. I asked TESLA...

While traveling on US 93 southbound, the vehicle raandomly saw oncoming traffic as a threat and applied braking. This was most pronounced seemingly with large trucks, usually white in color, and occasionally apparently with flashing lighted signs. This phonenomen has occured at other times. Often in city traffic on city streets, it is overly sensitive and applies braking when cross-traffic occurs but is not yet a threat. I have not yet been rear-ended but have decided to only use this feature when I can be reasonably sure no one will be close behind me. Tesla's response is that this is a Beta feature. Your safety rating included this "feature" as one of the positive factors. Maybe that was a mistake?

This complaint is specific to the automatic control of the Model Y related to "PHANTOM BRAKING". This is an ongoing problem with the "AUTOPILOT" and "FULL SELF DRIVING" functions on my car, it has always had. Most of the miles on my car are freeway and highway miles. Regardless of which of the automatic functions selected on my car, "phantom braking" occurs repeatedly in a startling fashion that doesn't seem to be related to the environment the car is being driven in. The problem is consistent enough that I will not use any of the auto driving functions when I have passengers in the car with me. The problem requires constant intervention by the driver. There are 2 versions of this type of un-commanded breaking: 1. Unexpected braking with no computer warnings or alerts. It can be hard braking or, light to medium breaking, for no apparent or justifiable reason....

the emergency braking failed, by activating when it should not have activated. Caused hard braking which the rear car almost ran into me. Vehicle has not been taken into dealer to be reproduced or confirmed by dealer. Vehicle has not be taken into dealer to be inspected. On vehicle display, there was a pedestrian image causing hard braking, but no actual pedestrian was there.

While using Autopilot, the vehicle brakes when coming over the crest of any hill on the highway. It's not even occasionally, it's every single time I have Autopilot/CruiseControl enabled, it phantom brakes. To be clear, this is with just Autopilot, not FSD. My guess is the car can not see the road on the other side of the hill, so it freaks out. Also, this is a case of the car braking, it does not disengage Autopilot. After this happened about 20 times on a road trip I have just stopped using it. It's terrible. Also, another detail is this happens whether it's just on cruise control or autopilot. Even if I am in full control of the steering of the vehicle it still happens. Tesla doesn't have an option to just maintain speed with the cruise control where I control braking, it's the adaptive cruise control or Autopilot. Very...

Multiple hard phantom braking events using adaptive cruise control on interstate with no obstacles.

On Friday February 25, 2021, while driving on Florida’s Tamiami Trail (41), my Tesla repeatedly experienced extreme phantom braking, even though there were no vehicles in front of us or behind us either in our lane or the oncoming lane. It was a sunny bright morning between 9:30 and 10:00 AM.

Sudden and dramatic application of emergency collision braking for no apparent reason. No objects in the road in the driving path of the vehicle, but the emergency braking system engages. Available for inspection upon request. Having this occur during traffic can result in being rear ended as the braking can be so severely applied. Bodily injury in the form of whiplash is also foreseeable. The problem has not been reproduced by the dealer or service center. The vehicle has not been inspected for these problems. There is a warning chime prior to almost every event. Sometimes it just slows without warning. They first occurred on our first long road trip beyond twenty miles.

Phantom braking on a two lane highway. The vehicle would suddenly go into emergency braking when a truck was coming in the opposite direction. We were making a 200 mile round trip and it happened approximately 6 times. Called Tesla who advised to disable automatic braking on two lane highway until bug was fixed,

I was on a road trip and no less than 20 times over 10 hours, my car when standard cruise control was set, the car applied the brakes HARD for me without any warning. It went from scary to nearly resulting in a rear-end collision. The cause ranged from absolutely no reason except for maybe a slight dip in the highway(? weird) to oncoming traffic - standard, nothing close to an emergency situation. I had ALL auto features disabled and was just using the set speed feature. I've submitted a service request but the next appointment is in two weeks and in the meantime, I'm frankly scared to drive the car. It happened at 70 miles per hour and immediately dropped me down to 40 on the highway and I just about had to take a break from driving I was so shaken. It also happens on local backroads when...

This is the second Tesla I have owned and the previous model did not have this problem at all. This vehicle has phantom emergency braking occurrences during use with the cruise control and also with the auto drive feature. It will randomly brake hard when there is nothing around the vehicle, either in front, back or sides. I have contacted Tesla 3 times, the first two they said nothing was wrong and the 3rd time is scheduled for February 28 here in Houston. The first two times Tesla told me to record the time and place of the occurrence so that they could look at the data that was being input to the vehicle. I did this but it did not work. When the vehicle has an emergency braking occurrence all of the occupants of the vehicle are violently slammed forward until the driver can push down on the accelerator...

Daily phantom breaking, puts me at risk of being rear-ended. There is one specific stretch of road where this always happens - wide 4 lane road free of any possible complications for the vision system. Happens regularly and without warning in other circumstances as well.

I was driving on a 2 lane highway at about 60 mph in the middle of my lane. The adaptive cruise control was used to manage my speed. Another vehicle was travelling in the opposite direction going toward me, and in the middle of their lane. The other vehicle was an 18 wheel truck. Suddenly, with no warning, the braking system slowed my vehicle. Both myself and my wife felt our seat belts tighten quickly. There was a vehicle behind us, that nearly hit us when the brakes were applied so quickly, for no apparent reason. I had to quickly put my foot on the accelerator pedal to stop the braking, and get back to the correct speed. This has happened several times, usually when driving on a road that gently curves to the right. The sudden braking also occurred when there was no other traffic, just a new section...

Vehicle engaged full automatic braking inappropriately while driving around 55 miles per hour on a two-lane Oregon highway. No traffic in front of me or any debris in road.

I was driving south on Highway 101 on 2/8/22. I was using the self driving feature. The car abruptly slowed down and was appearing to stop even though there was no collision imminent. Traffic was moderate.

Sometimes randomly but often in the spot, when in autopilot, the car will randomly brake hard when there is no car or obsticle in front of me. This has occured when I'm on the highway and I've noticed a pattern that it happens when I go under and overpass. Its usually very sunny and there is a strong shadow in front of the car. I think with the camera vision autopilot it thinks the shadow is an obstacle in the road but I'm not sure. This happens very suddenly and luckily has not happened when a car is following close behind me. But if it did this could definitely cause a rear collision at high speeds.

WHILE DRIVING IN AUTO PILOT ON HIGHWAYS, NOT FREEWAYS, THE CAR WILL SUDDENLY BRAKE WHEN IT SEES A CAR ON THE SIDE ROAD THAT IS NOT COMING INTO TRAFFIC. THE BRAKING IS VERY SUDDEN AND HARSH. THROWING DRIVER AND PASSENGERS FORWARD. I WILL NOT USE THIS FEATURE BECAUSE I FEEL IT IS UNSAFE TO USE. PLEASE MAKE TESLA MAKE CHANGES.

The adaptive cruise control feature frequently hits the brakes despite no obstacles in the road. Major triggers seem to be: Oncoming cars on an undivided highway at night. Oncoming 18-wheelers on an undivided highway at any time in day. Going over the top of a hill. Small bumps in the road at night. A large vehicle with blinking red hazard lights in view. (This will slam on the brakes and set the speed limit to 50 as it seems to think it's an emergency vehicle) Blinking red traffic lights. Sometimes HOV lane entrances will use a blinking red light to show that the lane is closed, and the car will slam on the brakes thinking it's an emergency vehicle. There's a risk of rear-end collisions caused by the sudden decelerations. Most of these events happened on highways with low traffic. No warning lights or messages were displayed before the events.

The car randomly brakes hard when the cruise control is on. It’s intolerable on roads with a lot of tree shadows or even clouds.

These issues occur w/ no warning, occur randomly, in all conditions. Issue 1. Vehicle randomly slams on the brakes with no obstructions or vehicles in front. This occurs at highway speeds as well as neighborhood speeds. I'm worried about being rear-ended. This occurs daily. Issue 2. Vehicle thinks oncoming traffic is in same lane and attempts to emergency stop. Issue 3. Upon changing lanes, using auto lane change, vehicle serves back I to lane for no reason.

Phantom braking has occurred multiple times randomly when autopilot and cruise control are activated.

On multiple occasions the car triggers emergency braking when no obstacle is in front of the car, often at high speeds. The car is not equipped with radar, and relies entirely on camera-based adaptive cruise control. this is a safety risk and possible rear end collision cause. Due to the lack of radar, the vehicle also accelerates to desired speed slowly when using adaptive cruise control while on interstate. Often times resulting in traveling under the speed limit for an extended amount of time, causing a safety hazard.

We have had multiple incidents from July through Dec 2021when the vehicle is operating in cruise control and brakes hard for no good reason. Most of these are on highway 86 between Tucson and Sells. For some of those incidents there was an oncoming school bus, which may have been the visual trigger. For others we do not know the cause.

Phantom braking. Vehicle slams the brakes on as soon as it sees an approaching vehicle in the opposite lane. Cruise control is unusable on two lane roads.

When driving with the cruise control on, the car suddenly and rapidly brakes for no apparent reason. Nothing in front of the car. Problem has happened multiple times. Very hard Braking that if someone was behind us it would likely have caused an accident. We no longer use the cruise control because we are afraid of it causing an accident.

Multiple Emergency braking events basically everytime a semi passed during auto pilot and some phantom braking when only using traffic aware cruise control... Lucky to not get rear ended

This issue has happened numerous times since I’ve taken possession of the car. The vehicle perceives a potential collision when no such potential collision exists. The car will suddenly brake while traveling down the interstate at high speeds (maximum speed limit). Fortunately, no one has been so close behind me that this has resulted in an accident, but it is only a matter of time. I took it in to a Tesla dealership this week to have it looked at. Despite the adjustments made at the dealership, it happened again on my drive home from the dealership. I feel this automatic breaking system is unsafe. It also breaks suddenly at sharp turns or curves in the road, even at low speeds. It doesn’t anticipate the turn and thinks the driver is heading straight into an obstruction. Part of the issue is learning to think like a computer and learning to...

The Tesla Model Y had a software update at 12:05 am on Feb 13, 2022, which was complete. I drove the car to local YMCA at around 8:15 am on Sunday Feb 13, 2022, for my swim exercise and drove it home at around 9:30 am. I planned to park it by backing up to my driveway so that I can charge it. I positioned my car, with the front facing my neighbor's house. My foot was on brake and my right hand was moving the Drive Stalk towards R for reverse. The car all of the sudden flew forward on its own! It was only stopped after it hit my neighbor's house, making a big hole into her house, and causing severe damages to it outside and inside (smashed furniture and falling glassware), as well as to her landscaping. When this happened, my foot was still on the brake...

At 55 MPH on clear day, with visible lines the car automatically braked when an on coming truck passed nearby causing near rear end collision. I have two good videos of this if you wish to see actual conditions. Dealer acknowledged problem but said there was no fix and I should turn off automatic braking.

While driving my Tesla Model Y with Cruise Control activated, the vehicle would inexplicably brake/decelerate rapidly without any vehicle traffic in front of the car. It would occur at its worst while changing lanes, as I approached another vehicle from behind and attempted to change lanes to overtake. I would either be mostly in the other lane, or had already successfully changed lanes, when the vehicle inexplicably braked/decelerated. It was alarming, frustrating, and infuriating as it seemed clearly unjustified. This occurred while on the interstate, which was extremely dangerous given the speed traveling at as well as the number of vehicles that typically travel on the interstate. I have not used the feature since, and have even attempted to try and disable the feature while still being able to utilize some sort of basic cruise control feature, to no avail.

I have owned two Tesla Model Y's, this one from 2021 and a 2022 version as well. Both vehicles have exhibited the type of "phantom braking" that I have now seen described by several other owners. When attempting to use either the full Autopilot system (which includes both adaptive cruise control and lane keeping assist), or when using just the adaptive cruise control (without lane keeping), the vehicle would brake suddenly and forcefully. This appears to be in response to a threat perceived by the car, but it would happen on totally clear roads, in great weather, without some of the typical false indicators experienced by "vision" based systems. It's noteworthy that both of my cars used the vision-only system, as this vehicle was one of the first ones that Tesla produced that did not include a radar-based system. I experienced phantom braking so often with this car that I...

My 2021 Tesla Model Y has two problems related to braking: (1) frequent unexpected and unnecessary slowdowns while driving on Autopilot adaptive cruise control. The vehicle seems to believe something is in the road but it is not the case. This has been called "phantom braking" by many online reports. I experience this on nearly every drive where adaptive cruise control is engaged. (2) On one occasion the car locked up its brakes and began swerving to the left for no reason whatsoever. An alarm appeared on the screen and audible tones and a video was automatically saved. The event lasted only a second but would surely have caused a collision if another car was following me. The event occurred as I passed an oncoming truck on a two lane highway at night in good visibility. I was driving manually. Adaptive cruise control and auto steering were *not* engaged at...

After hearing of the "phantom braking" problem with the 2021 Tesla Model Y I thought I'd add my observations. My car has rapidly, unexpectedly, and without other warning decelerated several times but always when the forward sensors apparently picked up a car crossing in front of me. Normally, I'd appreciate the help but it has happened several times when the crossing car was well in front of me and there was no cause for alarm from me and no way a tailing car should expect such a dramatic braking action. Tesla should certainly be asked to review this system and modify the braking action so that it is more gradual for distant cars or preceded by a moderate sound alert for concerning but not immediately threatening front-crossing cars. I should also note that the warning sound seems to go off at appropriate times as I approach stopped cars and it...

The driver assist feature was engaged, what TESLA calls FSD, full self-driving. This has happened multiple times where the car will slam on the brakes, even on the highway for obstacles not in the car's path. For example, a car is on the exit ramp and I am in the adjacent lane. The car on the exit ramp slows down to make its exit and the TESLA will slam on the brakes. The TESLA also has done this for cars making turns. It will not brake until the last second and then it slams on the brakes, even after the car in front of me has turned.

"phantom" braking occurred 2/17/22 ~ 630pm driving in parking lot, not in autopilot no people or other cars nearby went from 15mph to 0 instantly screen showed a person directly in front of car - no one there was foggy with light rain

I DO NOT DRIVE THIS CAR OFTEN, BUT WHEN I WENT ON A ROAD TRIP FOR TWO WEEKS OVER CHRISTMAS I NOTICED THAT THE CAR WHEN IT WAS IN CRUISE CONTROL WOULD PICK UP VEHICLES COMING TOWARD ME ON A TWO LANE ROAD AND SUDDENLY SLOW DOWN. IT GOT MUCH WORSE COMING HOME WHEN I WAS IN NEW MEXICO ON I25 GOING NORTH. IT WOULD SUDDENLY SLOW DOWN COMING UP TO A CREST OF A HILL WITH NO OTHER VEHICLE AROUND ME. IT ALSO PICKED UP SEMIS GOING SOUTH THAT WERE HUNDREDS OF YARDS AWAY FROM ME. IT HAPPENED NUMEROUS TIMES AND SCARED MY WIFE. WHEN I WAS HOME I SET UP AN APPOINTMENT WITH TESLA SERVICE. THEY LATER CANCELLED IT AS THEY DID NOT SEE IT AS A PROBLEM.

Autopilot suddenly breaks to a dangerous levels while driving in the highway. Sometimes this happens with incoming cars/trucks on the other line. I have to manually take over control as I am worried I might be rear ended. These events are very likely to happen at least once on a given commute. This sudden braking also happens while going over a certain bridge. This has happened to all drivers in this car.

Phantom braking when using Tesla autopilot

The vehicle engages automatic emergency braking frequently and repeatedly without reason, especially on two lane highways with oncoming traffic. This occurs during the day and at night. The vehicle also engages phantom braking (without emergency braking notifications) during normal driving on freeways and highways. Video of this incident is also available.

In 16 months I have experience 2 episodes of dramatic emergency braking while traveling at highway speed in the carpool lane adjacent to a concrete barrier wall estimated 5 feet high on the left side of the vehicle. The car decelerated from 65 mph to roughly 30 mph in roughly 2 to 2.5 seconds. Had someone been following at an unsafe distance an accident would have occurred. Thankfully it did not. I never experienced this in my previous Tesla Model S. Overall I love the vehicle, but these 2 incidents were disconcerting.

Hello, my Tesla Model Y frequently brakes unexpectedly causing me concern in traffic I could be rear-ended. This happens when engaged in FSD Beta software version 10.9 currently and has happened in all previous versions of the software as well. I have held a commercial drivers licnese and want everyone on the road to be safe as possible. The car brakes hard reducing speed 15mph in a second. The car has also attempted to take off from a red light when the first car at an intersection treating it as a stop sign when when several lights are present indicating a solid red and the screen in car shows me solid red as well. I have had to intervene many times to prevent accidents.