2022 Tesla Model Y · symptom sheet
Brakes on its own (automatic emergency braking)
- 254owner reports
- 5,000median miles
- 10involved a crash
Newest report Sep 16, 2026 · checked Oct 2, 2026
552 of the 865 complaints on this car are about collision avoidance. 254 of those describe phantom braking. Only driver assist is reported more often on this car.
Tick what matches of 254 reports
Phantom braking on other Model Y years
Report counts are for each model year on its own, so a newer car has had less time to collect them. Model years with too few reports of it for a sheet: 2025.
What this problem usually is
Phantom braking is a car that brakes hard on its own, often at highway speed, with nothing in the road ahead. About one owner in five mentions a near miss with the car behind.
What got replaced
Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the radar or camera sensor (25 reports) and the software (23 reports).
Recalls and investigations
One recall on collision avoidance covers the 2022 model year. A recall on the same system isn't always the same failure, so read the defect text.
A factory reset muted the Pedestrian Warning System (PWS) sounds.
All 20 recalls on the 2022 Tesla Model Y, with the owner complaints on each recalled system
NHTSA investigations into collision avoidance on the Model Y
Sudden unintended acceleration. Open.
Unexpected brake activation. Closed jun 29, 2026.
When it happens
The middle half of failures fell between 3,000 and 14,600 miles, from the 24 reports that gave a mileage.
What owners wrote
“My chat constantly phantom brakes. This is a constant issue, I ve had the car since it was new and almost everytime im in adaptive cruise control it randomly brakes. Today with nothing in front of my on 3 separate occasions it applies the brakes and forces me to accelerate to maintain speed.”
Filed Sep 5, 2026
“Car phantom braked when in a 2 lane highway when there was an approaching car in the opposite lane. No danger of the other car colliding but Tesla braked for no reason. Happened multiple times while using Autopilot.”
Filed Feb 13, 2022
“Car consistently brakes unexpectedly when another large car is passing going the opposite direction. There have also been times they shadows cause the same result. I believe this is referred to as phantom braking and it makes the adaptive cruise control unusable and dangerous.”
Filed Feb 5, 2022
“While driving on a single lane road in Bismarck, ND in low light conditions the car did what we call phantom braking anytime a oncoming car would be approaching.”
Filed Feb 5, 2022
Should you keep driving it?
This page can't tell you that. 10 of 254 reports involved a crash and 6 people were hurt. Owners who file are the ones who had a bad experience, and nobody checks their reports. If the problem affects steering, braking, power or a fire risk, treat it as a safety fault and have it inspected before a long or high-speed drive.
File your own report with NHTSA. Complaint counts are how a problem gets an investigation. How reports land on this sheet.
Guide Paid for this repair before a recall covered it? How recall reimbursement works
Other problems on this car
- Adaptive cruise or lane keeping misbehaves 265 reports
- Brakes grind, pulse or wear early 132 reports
- Forward collision warning goes off or the camera drops out 75 reports
- Infotainment, screen or backup camera fails 74 reports
- Seat belt or seat problems 37 reports
- Suspension noise, struts or alignment 37 reports
- Full Self-Driving (FSD) does something unsafe 35 reports