2023 Tesla Model Y cruise control problems
167 of the 1,167 complaints owners filed with NHTSA about the 2023 Tesla Model Y name the cruise control (NHTSA’s “Vehicle Speed Control” heading — cruise control, adaptive cruise and unintended-acceleration reports). Filed under the same heading: 1 NHTSA investigation. Every figure below is a document in a federal file, linked; none is a failure rate, and none is a verdict on any one car.
What owners filed about the cruise control
Source: NHTSA complaint database35 of the 167 reports a crash · 0 a fire · 15 injuries. Self-reported, unverified.
Filed per year: 2022: 2 · 2023: 113 · 2024: 29 · 2025: 11 · 2026: 12
Too few of these complaints carry an odometer reading to say when the problem shows up.
1,167 complaints in all about the 2023 Tesla Model Y, 12 filed in 2026. The whole picture, every system →
Counts are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many of these were sold; nothing here is a rate. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so “Vehicle Speed Control” means the same area of the vehicle, not one fault.
Across model years: Tesla Model Y cruise control problems, every year on file →
In owners’ own words
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseFiled with NHTSA by the people who own these cars, about the cruise control. Quoted as written, with anything identifying removed; unverified reports — what was said, not a finding that it was true.
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while at a stop with the brake pedal depressed, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated. The contact stated that no warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that she rear-ended the vehicle in front as she turned the steering wheel to the left and landed in a ditch.
Vehicle brakes suddenly while driving even when there are no cars or obstacles of any kind in front or even in the distance. This has led to several events where I was almost rear-ended because of how strongly and violently the car was breaking on the highway. Last example was on March 5th 2023 at 1:19 p.m.
In auto pilot mode , my Tesla suddenly applied emergency brake and brought my model y from 65 to 10 min in 287 Highway. Luckily they was no car or truck behind me. No car in front of me also
I was driving on the George Bush Turnpike on with cruise control set at 80mph. There were few cars on the road an no cars in front of mine. All of a sudden the car went from 80 down to 60 mph and I had to recover manually by pressing the acceleration pedal.
We were driving our brand new Tesla Y long range (we picked it up by the end of November 2022, and it was less then 150 miles) on 01/22, there were 3 adults and 2 kids in the car, and the car lost power in the middle of freeway. We had to slide the car to the shoulder and call Tesla service.
What is on file about the cruise control
Source: NHTSA recalls, investigations and manufacturer communicationsNHTSA investigation
- DP23002 Sudden Unintended Accelerationopened Jun 29, 2023 · open
- The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) received a petition requesting that ODI reevaluate its decision to deny DP20-001 on the basis that intermittent high electrical current demands on the vehicles' 12VDC systems may have caused some or all of the incidents examined by ODI in DP20-001. The petitioner bases this information on a review of open-source research and the DP20-001 denial. The petiti…
Other systems with a record on the 2023 Tesla Model Y
Source: the same files- automatic emergency braking problems 630 complaints
- steering problems 212 complaints
- suspension problems 127 complaints
- electrical problems 122 complaints
Common questions
Source: NHTSA complaint database, recalls and manufacturer communicationsAre cruise control problems common on the 2023 Tesla Model Y?
They are documented: NHTSA holds 167 owner complaints naming the cruise control on this model year (14% of everything owners filed about it), and 1 NHTSA investigation is filed under the same heading. Whether it is a problem on one particular car is a diagnosis, not a count, and a count says nothing about how many were sold.
Is there a recall for the cruise control on the 2023 Tesla Model Y?
No recall campaign is filed under this heading for this model year (there are 17 filed under other headings). A bulletin is not a recall: it carries no federal duty to repair for free.
When do cruise control problems show up on the 2023 Tesla Model Y?
Too few of the complaints carry an odometer reading to say. The model year's page shows the mileage curve across every system where it can.
What does NHTSA's "Vehicle Speed Control" heading cover?
Cruise control, adaptive cruise and unintended-acceleration reports. Owners choose the heading when they file, so it says which area of the vehicle the complaint is about, not which part failed.