2021 Tesla Model Y 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 22V317000May 9, 20227 vehicles
  ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ADAS:DRIVER MONITORING:CAMERA/SENSOR · FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING · LANE DEPARTURE: LANE KEEP: AUTOMATIC STEERING

  Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Model 3 and 2021 Model Y vehicles. The fisheye and narrow camera cable terminals were incorrectly installed in the cable harness connector, resulting in swapped camera views.

  Risk: Swapped camera views can prevent the vehicle's cameras from detecting crossing objects and high-curvature lane lines, impairing the Autosteer and Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) performance, and increasing the risk of a crash.

  Remedy: Tesla Service will correct the swapped terminals and recalibrate the cameras, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 8, 2022. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-22-17-007.

• 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 Oct 6, 2026CACrashDriver Assistance & Safety Tech

   On October 1, 2026 at approximately 7:55 PM, I was driving my 2021 Tesla Model Y with Autopilot/driver-assistance engaged. The vehicle struck a fixed support pole of the canopy at my driveway. The pole was stationary, but the vehicle did not avoid it. The collision caused significant damage to the vehicle and canopy/pole. I am concerned that the Tesla driver-assistance system failed to detect and/or respond appropriately to a stationary object while engaged. I am not aware…

   NHTSA complaint #11769473 · source
2. Filed Oct 4, 2026PADriver Assistance & Safety TechElectrical System

   COMPONENT: The car computer (Tesla HW3 / "Full Self-Driving Computer 3," which houses the Autopilot computer and GPS) failed during a scheduled overnight over-the-air software update from version XXX in early XXX. The update failed to install, and from that point all cameras were black including the backup camera, navigation was frozen, and every driver-assistance feature was unavailable: Autopilot, FSD, automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, lane keeping,…

   NHTSA complaint #11768791 · source
3. Filed Oct 3, 2026MDDriver Assistance & Safety TechElectrical SystemVisibility & Wipers

   On October 1, 2026, immediately after my 2021 Tesla Model Y installed Tesla software update 2026.32.7, the driver-assist computer entered a continuous boot loop. All eight vehicle cameras went black (confirmed in the vehicle's Service Mode), the rear camera displays 'camera temporarily unavailable,' Autosteer will not engage, and the vehicle shows alert UI_a114 for degraded driving visualization. All camera-dependent driver-assist and safety features are inoperative. The…

   NHTSA complaint #11768773 · source
4. Filed Sep 26, 2026CADriver Assistance & Safety TechElectrical System

   Shortly after I purchased and activated Tesla Full Self-Driving (Supervised), my vehicle's driver-assistance system stopped functioning. Autopilot and FSD became unavailable, the vehicle cameras stopped functioning properly, GPS/navigation positioning stopped functioning properly, and the vehicle could no longer communicate normally with the Driver Assistance System (DAS). Service Mode testing showed DAS Ethernet communication failure. I attempted multiple troubleshooting…

   NHTSA complaint #11767070 · source
5. Filed Sep 16, 2026TXDriver Assistance & Safety Tech

   The Tesla will randomly when the Adaptive Cruise Control is engaged brake from highway speeds down to 30mph. This happens when you go by off ramps and at some intersections on the highway. 1) At the intersection of [XXX] and [XXX] in [XXX] it happens sometimes especially if there is a vehicle next to you 2) At the intersection of [XXX] and [XXX] 3) Off ramp on [XXX] and [XXX]. these are the places that it happens the most. It does very randomly do it at other locations.…

   NHTSA complaint #11764813 · source
6. Filed Sep 15, 2026WADriver Assistance & Safety TechElectrical System

   On or about XXX my Tesla Model Y downloaded FSD version 14 Lite. One day after downloading the software, I used FSD and the new software caused the computer to overheat. This killed the car computer and made FSD, adaptive, cruise control, lane keep assist, reverse camera, and many other functions, including GPS and navigation inoperable. My car’s warranty expired in January of this year and Tesla will not cover the replacement car computer. There are hundreds of other…

   NHTSA complaint #11764580 · source
7. Filed Sep 14, 2026MNDriver Assistance & Safety Tech

   In the 5 years we have had this vehicle there have been multiple issues with the Self Driving feature including: 1)Phantom braking on busy freeways in [XXX] 2)Swerving randomly into the other late on a curve on 4 lane hwy at 65 mph ([XXX] near [XXX]) 3)Attempting to switch lanes into fast traffic when we were at a standstill in rush hour traffic ([XXX]) 4)Slamming brakes on on a 2 lane road on a curve because there was a semi in the other lane (that had not crossed the line)…

   NHTSA complaint #11764224 · source
8. Filed Aug 25, 2026CADriver Assistance & Safety TechAcceleration & Cruise ControlSteering

   I own a 2021 Tesla Model Y with an HW3 car computer. At approximately 54,000 miles, the vehicle developed intermittent failures of the cameras, GPS/navigation, and cruise control. On two occasions during the same routine drive, about 40 minutes into the trip, the GPS, cameras, and cruise control abruptly stopped functioning at approximately the same location. The first occurrence was about July 7, 2026 at 9:15 AM and the second August 7, 2026 at about 3:15 PM. I made the…

   NHTSA complaint #11759495 · source
9. Filed Aug 17, 2026GADriver Assistance & Safety TechElectrical System

   On XXX, while driving southbound on XXX from [XXX] toward [XXX], my vehicle’s center display (MCU) crashed and rebooted at highway speed, leaving me with no screen for approximately 5–10 minutes. Sequence of events: 1.Earlier in the drive, while using Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14 Lite, the vehicle exhibited phantom braking and speed oscillation (repeatedly cycling between approximately 73, 70, and 72 mph without cause). I disengaged FSD and switched to standard…

   NHTSA complaint #11757562 · source
10. Filed Aug 13, 2026CADriver Assistance & Safety TechSteeringSuspension

    Component: Suspension: Front — lower lateral and compliance link assemblies; missing and backed-out lateral-link-to-subframe fasteners; torn bushings Beginning in XXX, the vehicle produced a reproducible knocking noise from the front end when reversing and turning at parking-lot speeds, with no dashboard warnings. Tesla Service ([XXX], invoice XXX) verified the noise and documented on the invoice that the cause was: 1. A front left lateral-link-to-subframe mounting bolt…

    NHTSA complaint #11756800 · source
11. Filed Aug 7, 2026GADriver Assistance & Safety TechAcceleration & Cruise Control

    Separately, the system could not hold a consistent speed on open highway with no vehicle ahead. It would surge from a set 70 mph to roughly 72-73 mph and then drop back, repeatedly, producing a pulsing acceleration and deceleration. The system also hesitated frequently and issued repeated audible alerts without an identifiable hazard present. I previously filed a complaint regarding phantom braking on this same vehicle (ODI number 11450326, filed February 4, 2022), which…

    NHTSA complaint #11755578 · source
12. Filed Aug 2, 2026CADriver Assistance & Safety TechElectrical SystemOther / Unknown

    On June 7, 2026, my 2021 Tesla Model Y with approximately 37,131 miles became completely unresponsive and could not be driven. Tesla Mobile Service replaced the 12V low-voltage battery on June 11, 2026. The official repair notes stated that the battery was replaced, proper operation was verified, there were no active alerts, and the vehicle was in excellent condition. Shortly after this repair, multiple vehicle systems stopped functioning, including all cameras,…

    NHTSA complaint #11754296 · 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