2024 Tesla Model Y: What to check before buying

Sudden acceleration is the most serious pattern. The car surges forward at parking-lot or driveway speeds, sometimes while the driver is braking, and hits parked cars, fences, gates, or trees. Nine of the 47 reports involve a crash. The other common failure is the AP4 computer. When it fails, the cameras, GPS, and driver aids all go dark, often right after a software update and in cars around 1,000 miles old. Replacement computers were back-ordered for weeks, usually with no loaner. Single reports describe a fire while charging in a garage and a shutdown caused by a leaking battery coolant connector.

Phantom braking dominates. With cruise control or Autopilot on, the car brakes hard on an empty road at 45 to 70 mph. Speed drops within seconds, which invites a rear-end hit. Several owners say it happens over and over. A second group of reports describes the AP4 computer failing, which disables emergency braking, forward collision warning, and the cameras. Repairs were delayed by a parts shortage. Crash reports cite Full Self-Driving steering into parked cars, and a collision warning that sounded at the moment of impact without any automatic braking.

The core complaint is losing the backup camera. Most reports trace it to the AP4 computer failure, which knocks out every camera, GPS, blind-spot monitoring, and parking aids at once, often in cars with 1,000 to 2,015 miles. Owners describe very poor rear visibility and mirrors stuck in a dark tint. Service appointments were pushed back for weeks because computers were back-ordered, often with no loaner offered. A smaller software issue makes the rear view vanish when the driver adjusts climate or other screen controls while reversing, and that has led to low-speed collisions.

Unintended acceleration at low speed is the main crash risk. Cars lurch forward while parking or pulling up a driveway and hit garage doors and walls. In one report the car caught fire after the crash. On highways the opposite happens: cruise control brakes hard with nothing ahead at around 65 mph. Full Self-Driving complaints center on speed. The system misreads speed limits, and version 14.1.4 removed the manual speed offset, which leaves the car too slow or too fast for traffic.

The main pattern is steering that stops responding or jerks without input, and 7 of 16 reports involve a crash. Drivers describe the wheel locking in turns or at freeway speed, and sudden jolts that spin the car. In one crash at 38 mph, both steering and braking were lost. Full Self-Driving and Autopilot complaints include unprompted lane changes, a sharp turn into a curb, and steering toward passing traffic. One owner reports three steering rack replacements. Another lost all assist right after an alignment. Service sometimes declines a repair when no fault code is stored.

Most reports here describe the AP4 computer failure, not a lane-keeping fault. All cameras stop working, often after a software update. Lane departure warning, lane keeping, blind-spot alerts, GPS, and automatic high beams go with them. It hits new cars between 56 and about 4000 miles, and replacement computers were back-ordered for weeks. Other complaints say lane keeping quits without warning on dark rural roads when the pillar cameras report being blinded. Full Self-Driving also crossed a double yellow line after misreading shadows or tire marks. One Autopilot crash followed a sudden pull across three lanes.

Phantom braking is the dominant complaint. The car slams toward a stop with nothing ahead at speeds up to 75 mph, sometimes with no cruise control or driver assist engaged. It can repeat several times on one trip, and in one case the jolt injured a child's shoulder. Crash reports describe brakes that seem not to work during sudden acceleration, a stiff pedal with weak regenerative braking, and spins in the rain. Tesla service often finds nothing wrong. Other reports cover a confusing parking brake indicator and a front motor failure that cut ABS and power steering.

The central complaint is air bags that fail to deploy in serious crashes. Several reports describe sudden acceleration into a house or other cars with no air bags opening. In one T-bone crash only the passenger-side air bags opened, and the driver had to be cut out. Five of the six reports involve crashes, with nine injuries in total. The one non-crash report describes a passenger restraint failure warning that appeared along with the camera and computer failures seen in other categories.