Owners filed 3,783 complaints about the 2015–2025 Tesla Model Y with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the 25th-most of any vehicle in our Car Problem Index. The 2023 model year drew the most (1,156), and the single most-reported problem area is automatic emergency braking / collision warning, named in 48% of complaints.
Key findings
- Worst model year: 2023, with 1,156 complaints, led by automatic emergency braking / collision warning (474).
- Earliest-failing area: steering complaints came at a median of 3k mi on the odometer.
- Fire and crash reports: 25 complaints mention a fire and 476 mention a crash; owners reported 360 injuries and 109 deaths.
Tesla Model Y complaints by model year
| Model year | Complaints | Top problem areas | Median mileage | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 276 | Automatic emergency braking / collision warning (105), Speed control / acceleration (37), Brakes (35) | 5k mi | 47 | 0 |
| 2021 | 1,074 | Automatic emergency braking / collision warning (577), Brakes (177), Speed control / acceleration (160) | 4k mi | 86 | 6 |
| 2022 | 861 | Automatic emergency braking / collision warning (494), Speed control / acceleration (140), Brakes (131) | 10k mi | 89 | 8 |
| 2023 | 1,156 | Automatic emergency braking / collision warning (474), Steering (210), Speed control / acceleration (167) | 6k mi | 152 | 4 |
| 2024 | 318 | Automatic emergency braking / collision warning (120), Backup camera / rear sensors (61), Electrical system (58) | 9k mi | 72 | 4 |
| 2025 | 98 | Automatic emergency braking / collision warning (45), Lane departure assist (19), Electrical system (17) | 7k mi | 30 | 3 |
Newer model years have had less time on the road, so their counts are lower partly because owners have had fewer years to report problems.
Most-reported Tesla Model Y problems, and what they cost to fix
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median mileage | Repair estimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Automatic emergency braking / collision warning | 1,815 | 48% | 4k mi | — |
| Speed control / acceleration | 549 | 14% | 5k mi | — |
| Brakes | 533 | 14% | 5k mi | Brake repair cost |
| Electrical system | 486 | 13% | 8k mi | Alternator / electrical repair cost |
| Steering | 416 | 11% | 3k mi | Power steering repair cost |
| Lane departure assist | 320 | 9% | 7k mi | — |
| Suspension | 273 | 7% | 10k mi | Shock / strut replacement cost |
| Backup camera / rear sensors | 165 | 4% | 9k mi | — |
One complaint can name several problem areas, so shares add up to more than 100%.
What this data can and can't tell you
These are unverified reports that owners submitted to NHTSA, counted by model year. They are not defect findings, and they aren't adjusted for sales: a best-selling vehicle collects more complaints simply because more of them are on the road. Use the counts to compare model years of the same vehicle and to see which systems owners complain about most, not to compare how reliable two different models are. See the full methodology.
Other Tesla models in the index
- Tesla Model 3 (4,295)
- Tesla Model S (2,502)
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, consumer complaint files (nhtsa.gov), model years 2015–2025, retrieved 2026-09-23. Free to cite with a link to this page.