2021 Tesla Model S driver assistance & safety tech problems

Related recalls

• Recall 26V283000May 4, 2026218,868 vehicles
  BACK OVER PREVENTION:SOFTWARE

  Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2017, 2021-2023 Model 3, 2020-2023 Model Y, 2021-2023 Model S, and Model X vehicles operating software version 2026.8.6. The rearview camera image may be delayed when the vehicle is placed in reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."

  Risk: A delayed rearview image reduces the driver's view behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

  Remedy: Tesla has released an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 3, 2026. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-26-00-001.

• Recall 24V153000Feb 27, 20246,557 vehicles
  ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE · FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS:EXTERNAL/PEDESTRIAN ALERT

  Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2013, 2018-2021 Model S, 2020-2021 Model X, 2018-2022 Model 3, and 2020-2022 Model Y vehicles. A factory reset muted the Pedestrian Warning System (PWS) sounds. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 141, "Minimum Sound Requirements for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles."

  Risk: Pedestrians may be unaware of an approaching vehicle if the PWS sounds are muted, increasing the risk of a crash.

  Remedy: Tesla released an over-the-air (OTA) software update, release 2023.44.30.14, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 27, 2024. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-24-00-006.

• Recall 22V296000May 3, 2022129,960 vehicles
  BACK OVER PREVENTION:DISPLAY FUNCTION · EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL:INFOTAINMENT:VIDEO (TOUCH)SCREEN/MONITOR/UNIT

  Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Model S, Model X, and 2022 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles operating certain firmware releases. The infotainment central processing unit (CPU) may overheat during the preparation or process of fast-charging, causing the CPU to lag or restart.

  Risk: A lagging or restarting CPU may prevent the center screen from displaying the rearview camera image, gear selection, windshield visibility control settings, and warning lights, increasing the risk of a crash.

  Remedy: Tesla will perform an over-the-air (OTA) software update that will improve CPU temperature management, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 1, 2022. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-22-00-009.

• Recall 22V235000Apr 12, 2022594,894 vehicles
  ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE · FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS:EXTERNAL/PEDESTRIAN ALERT

  Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Model Y, Model X, Model S, and 2017-2022 Model 3 vehicles. The Boombox function allows sounds to be played through an external speaker while the vehicle is in motion, which may obscure the Pedestrian Warning System (PWS) sounds. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 141, "Minimum Sound Requirements for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles."

  Risk: Pedestrians may be unaware of an approaching vehicle if the PWS sounds are obscured, increasing the risk of a crash.

  Remedy: Tesla will perform an over-the-air (OTA) software update that will disable the Boombox functionality when the vehicle is in Drive, Neutral and Reverse modes, including Summon and Smart Summon, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 6, 2022. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-22-00-003. Note: This recall supersedes recall 22V-063. Vehicles configured with Summon or Smart Summon and already remedied under 22V-063 will need to have the new remedy software installed.

• Recall 22V063000Feb 4, 2022578,607 vehicles
  ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE · FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS:EXTERNAL/PEDESTRIAN ALERT

  Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Model S, Model X, Model Y, and 2017-2022 Model 3 vehicles. The Boombox function allows sounds to be played through an external speaker while the vehicle is in motion, which may obscure the Pedestrian Warning System (PWS) sounds. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 141, "Minimum Sound Requirements for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles."

  Risk: Pedestrians may be unaware of an approaching vehicle if the PWS sounds are obscured, increasing the risk of a crash.

  Remedy: Tesla will perform an over-the-air (OTA) software update that will disable the Boombox functionality when the vehicle is in Drive, Neutral and Reverse modes, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed April 5, 2022. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-22-00-003. Note: This recall has been superseded by Recall 22V-235. Tesla's number for the new recall is SB-22-00-003.

• Recall 21V846000Oct 29, 202111,728 vehicles
  FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING · FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA · FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE:SOFTWARE · FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS

  Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2017-2021 Model S, Model 3, Model X, and 2020-2021 Model Y vehicles operating software version 2021.36.5.2. A communication error may cause false forward-collision warning (FCW) or unexpected activation of the automatic emergency brake (AEB) system.

  Risk: Unexpected activation of the AEB system may cause the car to stop suddenly, increasing the risk of a crash.

  Remedy: Tesla Service has released an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. The recall began October 25, 2021. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-21-00-004.

What owners say

1. Filed Sep 29, 2026WADriver Assistance & Safety TechAcceleration & Cruise Control

   Tesla has taken away the ability to set maximum speed when using their Full Self Driving. THIS SHOULD BE ILLEGAL!!!! Now, the car can and will do 85 on a 60mph freeway! Sometimes you can't even tell you're speeding that fast until it's too late. INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS! They used to have that feature and they've taken it away. For the greed of collecting more data... AT THE EXPENSE OF EVERY DRIVER'S SAFETY

   NHTSA complaint #11767911 · source
2. Filed May 13, 2026ALBrakesDriver Assistance & Safety TechSeats & Seat Belts

   I noticed it happened before but I couldn't quite figure out what happened! I was driving down the local road and got ready to go under a overpass and next thing u know my EV just slammed on brakes like I was about to hit someone! Seatbelt choked me and made me gag! But when I came through this time It caught me off but after that I realized there's a problem,especially going under that overpass! This couldn't been very dangerous to anyone! This is a VERY DANGEROUS and…

   NHTSA complaint #11737492 · source
3. Filed May 11, 2026CACrash1 injuredTowedDriver Assistance & Safety TechOther / Unknown

   I was in full self driving mode and was travelling North bound 110 freeway transitioning to 405 freeway Northbound. In the right lane. Transition curved left. looked at my speed for a split second and as i looked up we were a split second from hitting freeway barrier head-on. We crashed through the barrier and ended on the embankment of the freeway. My car front end was totally demolished, front airbags went off. I was ok, but my wife suffered a L1 vertebrae fracture and was…

   NHTSA complaint #11737104 · source
4. Filed Oct 20, 2025ILDriver Assistance & Safety TechAcceleration & Cruise ControlSteering

   On October 17, 2025, while using Full Self-Driving (FSD) mode on my 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid, the car failed to stop at two red lights within a three-hour period. In each case, the car attempted to drive through the intersection even though the signal was solid red. I intervened manually and applied the brakes to prevent a potential collision. There were no prior warnings or alerts, and I have not modified the vehicle. This behavior endangers my safety and the safety of…

   NHTSA complaint #11694506 · source
5. Filed Jun 29, 2025CADriver Assistance & Safety TechSuspension

   GETTING WARNING ONDASH THAT SAYS "Adaptive ride control unavailable. Vehicle speed limited - Proceed with caution". On the internet many reports are noted of the same problem w Tesla vehicles, especially Model S cars. These have occurred soon after to taking delivery of after 20-30 K miles. Mine occurred at about 31,000 miles in my Model S 2021. Tesla says the need "diagnostics done first " at $275 and then the fix for another $300. This does not seem right.

   NHTSA complaint #11670103 · source
6. Filed Nov 17, 2024CACrashDriver Assistance & Safety Tech

   I engaged Tesla's Autopark to park my car in my usual spot. The car kept going after reaching the back of the parking space, crashing into a pole located around one foot behind the parking spot. The time between when it should have braked and the post was of such short duration that I had no time to apply the brakes and prevent the accident. The car lacks both radar and lidar, either of which would have detected the post. Instead it relies on a single video camera. What made…

   NHTSA complaint #11625790 · source
7. Filed Mar 23, 2024AZDriver Assistance & Safety Tech

   Driving Southeast on [XXX] between Gallup, NM and Albuquerque, NM. I was traveling at 75 MPH on an open road, it was a sunny day. I had the adaptive cruise control engaged (ACC). Literally no traffic in front of me for as far as the eye can see. Nothing that would cause an alert or obstruction in front of the car. The Tesla was on ACC and suddenly braked, hard. I immediately disengaged the ACC and drove manually. It was a frightening incident. If there had been traffic…

   NHTSA complaint #11579072 · source
8. Filed Feb 16, 2024TXDriver Assistance & Safety Tech

   I have never received an audible alert for my blind spot warning. There is no light on the outside mirrors or anywhere else inside the vehicle to catch your attention. If I am looking at my display in front of my steering wheel I will see a car that is in my blindspot change from GRAY to RED when I activate my blinker; however, the car has never beeped or alerted me beyond passively changing the car color to red on my display screen. If I'm changing lanes I am not looking at…

   NHTSA complaint #11572308 · source
9. Filed Aug 25, 2023CODriver Assistance & Safety TechAcceleration & Cruise Control

   Vehicle braked without warning with cruise control engaged. Luckily there were no other vehicles near us when this phantom braking occurred.

   NHTSA complaint #11540692 · source
10. Filed Jul 30, 2023CADriver Assistance & Safety Tech

    The adaptive cruise control has had phantom braking issues from day 1 of ownership (and through every software release from Tesla as I always update when a new one is available). Most of the time it's not possible to identify exactly what triggers the event. However, on July 27th 2023 I drove from Phoenix to Sacramento via I10, I210, I5 and had 6 phantom braking events. 5 were directly correlated with passing a semi with me in the #1 lane and the semi in #2. I had the car in…

    NHTSA complaint #11535327 · source
11. Filed Jul 27, 2023CADriver Assistance & Safety Tech

    Adaptive Cruise Control. The vehicle in this mode suddenly brakes for no apparent reason which under the right circumstances could cause a collision. Tesla Service Center looked at it but could not reproduce. This has happened many times on various dates not just once. Sometimes it happens more than once on a trip, sometimes it does not happen. This happens with no warning. Tesla knows about this problem for years but has failed to correct.

    NHTSA complaint #11534764 · source
12. Filed Jul 18, 2023NYDriver Assistance & Safety Tech

    Going north on New York State highway I-87, there is a bridge which results in Tesla Autopilot erroring EVERY TIME AND EVERY DAY and results in a "Full Self Driving Error" which causes Telsa car to brake along with putting on hazard lights. Issue was reported to Tesla, but they responded that it happens to everyone under this bridge so there is nothing they can do right now. The fault occurs on a busy highway at 55mph zone, and happens 100% of time going under the bridge,…

    NHTSA complaint #11533020 · source

Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation public data. Complaints are submitted by owners and are not verified by NHTSA or by us; a complaint does not prove a defect exists. View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov Methodology