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Vehicle speed controlPart report

2021 Tesla Model Y Vehicle speed control Problems

Complaints
162about this part
Share
15%of 1,095 total for the year
Median mileage
524miles
Trend
FallingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% lower than in the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 162 complaints about the vehicle speed control of the 2021 Tesla Model Y, 15% of the 1,095 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 524 miles. 20 of these say a crash was involved and 1 a fire, according to the filers.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“Parking my car when I pressed the brake and ready to engage park , car accelerated in high speed and drove to island and trying to control the wheel while my foot still on break to avoid hitting other cars on the parking lot , hit some curbs which cause the tire on the front passenger side came off completely with axle attached . This cause the car to stop and deployed air bag and caught on fire , that's when I immediately got out the car. The car mileage is 524 when it happened. Minor burn on my left arm from the fire and sore shoulder less than 24 hours.”

NHTSA complaint #11407155, filed 2021-04, 524 miles

“My brand new 2021 Tesla Model Y has had problems with the touchscreen (the main control center of the car) since day 1. It flickers off and on sporadically while driving (different speeds, roads and weather conditions each time) and once (after being parked) wouldn't turn on at all until I put it in reverse as one of the many things I tried. Then a glitchy screen full of static appeared and eventually the screen came back on. There are numerous online posts about how to fix this but none have worked. This occurs while driving, which means I can't see warnings or even the speed I am traveling! …”

NHTSA complaint #11402907, filed 2021-03, 15 miles

“This is the 2nd Tesla my mom owned, she drove a model 3 without any problems for many months. She picks up this Model Y on november 19 2020, and drives home from the dealer without issues. Next day november 20, 2020, drives to her work, pulls into a parking spot and came to a complete stop. Approx 5-10 seconds later the car lurches forward, hops over the parking curb, over some grass and into a brick wall at full acceleration. Luckily nobody was hurt, but severe damage to the building and the car. This case of unintended acceleration needs investigation. …”

NHTSA complaint #11376690, filed 2020-11, 70 miles

“Several times on residential speed control the system does not recognize yellow flashing school speed reduction signs. Never slows or breaks. The speed of 25 mph does not register on the screed (other speed signs do). I told tesla service center when other services were being done. They said they were aware. I have seen no improvement over the last several months”

NHTSA complaint #11641759, filed 2025-02

“When driving the car abruptly slows down. This also happened on the freeway. I get an error message that says “power limited” and a turtle symbol. This is the second time this issue has happened. Tesla service center has not been able to confidently diagnose this issue. They say it’s resolved and once I leave the service center and the problem comes back.”

NHTSA complaint #11571568, filed 2024-02

Vehicle speed control: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2026358%
2025109%
20243711%
202316814%
202214016%
202116215%
20203713%

Other parts of the 2021 Tesla Model Y

Forward collision avoidance
583 complaints
Brakes
181 complaints
Electrical system
152 complaints
Other or unknown
144 complaints
Steering
96 complaints
Suspension
80 complaints
Lane departure
79 complaints
Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
53 complaints
Body and structure
34 complaints
Transmission and drivetrain
33 complaints
Seat belts
27 complaints
Back-over prevention (rear camera)
26 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2021 Tesla Model Y

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 29, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology