2021 Tesla MODEL Y problems and owner complaints
Explore the records behind recurring owner reports.
Key facts
1,068 owner complaints analyzed
23 distinct recall campaigns
3,850 mi median reported failure mileage
Scope: 2021 model year. Data snapshot: . 100 complaints include usable failure mileage.
Most common problems
Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control is the most frequently named component, appearing in 407 of 1,068 complaints (38.1%). A complaint can name multiple components.
| Topic | Matching reports | Share of complaints |
|---|---|---|
| Braking behavior | 493 | 46.2% |
| Steering behavior | 112 | 10.5% |
| Electrical and battery issues | 71 | 6.6% |
| Transmission and shifting | 11 | 1.0% |
| Engine operation | 7 | 0.7% |
Topic matches use published keyword rules. They describe mentions, including negations or comparisons, and do not confirm a diagnosis. Read the matching rules.
Component breakdown
Number of unique complaints naming each component. Top eight shown.
| Category | Count |
|---|---|
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control | 407 |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking | 326 |
| Service Brakes | 177 |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 158 |
| Unknown Or Other | 134 |
| Electrical System | 123 |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Warnings | 103 |
| Steering | 92 |
Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control: 407; Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking: 326; Service Brakes: 177; Vehicle Speed Control: 158; Unknown Or Other: 134; Electrical System: 123; Forward Collision Avoidance: Warnings: 103; Steering: 92
Reported problems by failure mileage
Complaint counts in mileage bands. These are not failure rates per vehicle or mile.
| Category | Count |
|---|---|
| Under 25,000 | 75 |
| 25,000 to 49,999 | 12 |
| 50,000 to 74,999 | 9 |
| 75,000 to 99,999 | 2 |
| 100,000 to 149,999 | 1 |
| 150,000 and above | 1 |
Under 25,000: 75; 25,000 to 49,999: 12; 50,000 to 74,999: 9; 75,000 to 99,999: 2; 100,000 to 149,999: 1; 150,000 and above: 1
Under 25,000 miles has the most reports with usable mileage (75). 968 complaints have missing, zero or invalid mileage.
Complaints over time
Year the complaint was filed, not the vehicle model year or incident year. The snapshot year is partial.
| Category | Count |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 6 |
| 2021 | 131 |
| 2022 | 488 |
| 2023 | 170 |
| 2024 | 93 |
| 2025 | 91 |
| 2026 | 89 |
2020: 6; 2021: 131; 2022: 488; 2023: 170; 2024: 93; 2025: 91; 2026: 89
Pattern summary
Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control leads the component reports. Braking behavior appears in 493 complaint narratives. Steering behavior appears in 112 complaint narratives. Electrical and battery issues appears in 71 complaint narratives. Use these patterns to inspect individual reports and prepare questions for a mechanic.
Calculated from recorded counts. An AI narrative has not been published for this selection.
Complaint evidence
Examples provide context, not a representative sample or a verified diagnosis.
Owner report 11389612 · 2021-01-23 (January 23, 2021)
WHEN THE GAS PEDAL IS RELEASED AT SPEEDS GREATER THAN 15MPH, THE REGENERATIVE BREAKING SYSTEM IS ENGAGED TO SUCH A DEGREE THAT THE TIRES BREAK TRACTION WHEN DRIVING ON SLIPPERY SURFACE LIKE SNOW OR ICE. THE CAR THEN GOES OUT OF CONTROL AND SLIDES IN AN UNCONTROLLED MANNER. THE CAR HAS VARIOUS SETTING FOR BREAKING, BUT EVEN THE SETTING THAT OFFERS THE LEAST BREAKING (CALLED "ROLL"), RESULTS IN SIGNIFICANT BRAKING ACTION WHEN THE GAS PEDDLE IS RELEASED AT SPEEDS ABOVE 15MPH' ENOUGH FORCE THAT DRIVER AND PASSENGERS FALL FORWARD AGAINST SEAT BELT…
Owner-reported narrative. 640 miles reported. Look up ODI 11389612 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 11395858 · 2021-02-11 (February 11, 2021)
WENT TO STOP ON BELLFLOWER AVE IN LONG BEACH AROUND 8 AM 2/11/21 TO TURN IN TO THE LONG BEACH VA AND HAD LOSS OF BRAKE PRESSURE. BASICALLY STOPPED FROM REGENERATIVE BRAKING. HAD TO PUSH BRAKE PEDAL TO THE FLOOR TO ENGAGE AT ALL. THANKFULLY DID NOT HAVE AN ACCIDENT. TESLA FOUND AN INTERNAL FAILURE OF A BRAKE CALIPER WITH A LEAK. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE QUALITY CONTROL FOR A BRAND NEW CAR. THANKFULLY I WAS NOT ON THE FREEWAY WHEN THIS HAPPENED OR GOD FORBID, WITH MY KIDS IN THE CAR.
Owner-reported narrative. 1,200 miles reported. Look up ODI 11395858 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 11386558 · 2021-01-05 (January 5, 2021)
CLUNK NOISE COMING FROM FRONT END SUSPENSION WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY. THEN THE STEERING WHEEL STARTED TO GO OFF CENTERED, SLIGHTLY TO THE RIGHT, AND HAD SOME PLAY. THE STEERING WHEEL HAD TO BE HELD TIGHTLY TO KEEP CAR DRIVING STRAIGHT. I CALLED TESLA AND TOOK IT IN TO THEIR LAKE FOREST SERVICE CENTER. THE CLUNK CAN BE FELT AND HEARD WHILE TURNING LEFT ONTO DRIVE WAY. SERVICE WAS ABLE TO REPRODUCE NOICE BUT WAS NOT ABLE TO PINPOINT THE CAUSE. TECH DID STATE THAT A BOLT WAS 1/8 OF A TURN LOOSE. TECH PERFORMED ALIGNMENT AND STATE THST NOISE W…
Owner-reported narrative. 300 miles reported. Look up ODI 11386558 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 11398302 · 2021-02-28 (February 28, 2021)
HERE IS A 2021 MODEL Y IN THE JUNKYARD. HTTPS://WWW.IAAI.COM/VEHICLEDETAILS/39198554?TENANT=US&ROWNUMBER=18 IN COMMON WITH MANY OTHER TESLA JUNKYARD CARS IT HAS NOT BEEN IN A CRASH BUT HAS SIMPLY HAD THE SUSPENSION FALL TO BITS. THE STEM OF THE BALL JOINT ON THE STEERING ARM HAS SNAPPED. THE LOWER BALL-JOINT IS HALFWAY FALLEN OFF. THE UNDAMAGED WHEEL IS LYING ON THE GROUND BESIDE THE CAR. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR MAJOR FORCE TO BE APPLIED TO THE SUSPENSION WITHOUT THE WHEEL BEING DAMAGED. THIS IS ONCE AGAIN THE FAULT OF CHAOTIC DISORGANI…
Owner-reported narrative. 198 miles reported. Look up ODI 11398302 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 11387980 · 2021-01-14 (January 14, 2021)
THE DRIVER SIDE MIRROR CANNOT EXTEND TO ALLOW NORMAL SIDE VIEW VISIBILITY. I AM ONLY 5'8" AND AT FULL OUTWARD ELECTRICAL MOTOR STOP, ABOUT 1/3 OF THE MIRROR SHOWS THE CAR BODY. I HAVE 55YRS OF DRIVING AND NEVER HAD A CAR WITH THIS LIMIT. MY WIFE, AT 5'2" IS ABLE TO GET PROPER ADJUSTMENT
Owner-reported narrative. 30 miles reported. Look up ODI 11387980 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 11412799 · 2021-04-19 (April 19, 2021)
I RECEIVED DELIVERY OF MY 2021 MODEL Y ON MONDAY, MARCH 29TH. AFTER 12 DAYS OF OWNERSHIP AND DRIVING APPROX. 400 MILES, ON SATURDAY, APRIL 10TH, THE VEHICLE SHUT DOWN WHILE DRIVING, LEAVING ME STRANDED IN A LANE OF TRAFFIC AT NIGHT. THE FOLLOWING ERROR MESSAGE APPEARED ON THE MONITOR: 'VEHICLE SHUTTING DOWN ' PULL OVER SAFELY'. I WAS NOT SUCCESSFUL IN COMPLETELY PULLING OVER, SINCE I HAD VERY LITTLE TIME (APPROX. 5 SECONDS) TO RESPOND BEFORE THE CAR SHOOK AND STOPPED ENTIRELY. I HAD NO ABILITY TO PLACE IT IN NEUTRAL TO MOVE IT TO A SAFER LOCATI…
Owner-reported narrative. 440 miles reported. Look up ODI 11412799 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 11406325 · 2021-04-04 (April 4, 2021)
THESE ARE ADDITIONAL COMMENTS REGARDING COMPLAIN NUMBER 11406321. WE DID HAVE TO SHIFT INTO PARK IN ORDER TO USE THE KEY CARD. THAT IS NORMAL AND EXPECTED.
Owner-reported narrative. 870 miles reported. Look up ODI 11406325 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 11406984 · 2021-04-08 (April 8, 2021)
THESE ARE ADDITIONAL COMMENTS REGARDING COMPLAINTS NUMBERS 11406321, 11406325, AND 11406632. ACCORDING TO TESLA DOCUMENTATION, LOSS OF PHONE KEY COMMUNICATION SHOULD GIVE 2 TO 3 MINUTES DRIVABILITY TO GET TO A SAFE STOP. THERE WAS NO STATEMENT THAT I FOUND IN THAT DOCUMENTATION TO DESCRIBE HOW THE DRIVER IS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. REGARDING THE STATEMENT BY TESLA PERSONNEL THAT I TRIED TO SHIFT INTO PARK WHILE MOVING, THE CAR DOES, INDEED, PREVENT THAT FROM HAPPENING, AND GIVES THE DRIVER A LOUD AUDIBLE WARNING. THE DATE OF OCCURRENCE LIS…
Owner-reported narrative. 900 miles reported. Look up ODI 11406984 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 11469197 · 2022-06-14 (June 14, 2022)
There are 4 issues to report for our Tesla Model Y: 1) On the highway, our Tesla often presses on the brakes and slows down by itself when it should not be doing so. This occurs when we have adaptive cruise control on. We’ve noticed that at the time of the slowdown, the Tesla misreads the highway speed limit. For example, the Tesla will read the speed limit as 70 mph, then all of sudden without warning, the Tesla will suddenly read the speed limit at 40 mph, which then causes the Tesla to break and slow down by itself, when the speed limit is …
Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 11469197 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 11474647 · 2022-07-19 (July 19, 2022)
The vehicle loose power all of sudden while driving disabling all power including loss of power steering, failure of lane departure avoidance, regenerative brakes, parking breaks, traction and stability controls. This has caused hazardous dangerous conditions on the road. The vehicle had to be towed to local Tesla repair/service center on 4 occasions. We have been given false reassurance with no definitive fix yet, continues to be an ongoing issues that recurs after few weeks that vehicle comes back from service center.
Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 11474647 at NHTSA ↗