2021 Tesla Model Y
Complaints about this year name phantom braking far more often than the model's other years — 19% of them, about 4× the usual rate of 5.4%.
Generation 1 of the Tesla Model Y, which began in 2020. Everything below compares this year against the others in that generation, not against a different car wearing the same name.
| Complaints filed | 3,159 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 320 |
| Involving a crash | 255 |
| Involving a fire | 18 |
| Recalls | 23 |
| EPA combined | 127 mpg |
What owners wrote
Experienced "Phantom Braking" several times when cruise control is activated on a highway.
Phantom braking. Had car on cruise control and FSD and car would brake excessively for no reason.
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 22V037000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 21V912000 SUSPENSION Fixed free of charge.
- 21V835000 SUSPENSION Fixed free of charge.
- 22V045000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 21V388000 SEAT BELTS Fixed free of charge.
- 21V389000 SEAT BELTS Fixed free of charge.
- 21V387000 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC Fixed free of charge.
- 21V846000 FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE Fixed free of charge.
Showing 8 of 23. The rest are on NHTSA's site.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Tesla Model Y was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2021 Tesla Model Y? What happened to yours?
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