2026 Tesla Model Y problems
Owners have filed 690 complaints about the 2026 Tesla Model Y with NHTSA. Forward collision avoidance accounts for 23% of them, far more than any other system, ahead of lane departure at 8.4%. A further 18.0% were filed without a specific system named.
Complaints690
Crashes174
Fires1
Injuries53
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Forward collision avoidance 23.0% · 159
Unknown or other 18.0% · 124
Lane departure 8.4% · 58
Electrical system 8.3% · 57
Steering 7.1% · 49
Vehicle speed control 4.8% · 33
Structure 4.5% · 31
Suspension 4.3% · 30
Severity
Of those complaints, 174 describe a crash, 1 describe a fire and 53 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 7 model years of the Tesla Model Y in this data, 2026 sits 4th by complaint volume. 2023 draws the most.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 4,900 miles.
In owners' own words
I was using the full self driving feature of the vehicle. At an unusual intersection, there was a flashing do not turn right light because of a train. The car turned right ignoring the do not turn sign And headed for the railroad tracks. I had to slam on the brakes because the car was not going to stop. If a driver is not paying attention they will die. I have video of the whole thing. Forward collision avoidance
The latest version of Tesla FSD software does not let me fully control my speed. You can switch profiles or stop using Full Self-Driving, but you cannot set the speed to what you want. In the last version, you could use the right scroll wheel to increase or decrease the speed. Now that shifts profiles but even that does not give you control over what exact speed you are driving Forward collision avoidance
On full self driving, there is no way to change the follow distance and it follows way too close very often. This generates incidents that the car reports to Tesla insurance and we are penalized for something we can't always control. We also can't change our speed but I'm more concerned about the follow distance on highways. Last incident at 7:46PM on 1/25/2026. Forward collision avoidance
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…
Other Tesla Model Y years
2020 502 complaints · 27.7% forward collision avoidance 2021 2,042 complaints · 41.8% forward collision avoidance 2022 1,619 complaints · 43.1% forward collision avoidance 2023 2,066 complaints · 30.7% forward collision avoidance 2024 611 complaints · 28.6% forward collision avoidance 2025 211 complaints · 28.9% forward collision avoidance