Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2023 Tesla Model Y owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while pulling into a parking space with the brake pedal depressed, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated and struck an occupied parked vehicle ahead. Upon shifting into Reverse (R), the failure recurred, causing the vehicle to strike the front bumper of a parked and unoccupied USPS truck, which then struck a parked, unoccupied vehicle. The contact engaged the electric parking brake to stop the vehicle. The contact stated that the forward collision avoidance system failed to engage to prevent the collisions. The front driver's side air bag failed to deploy as expected. The vehicle sustained rear-end damage. The vehicle was towed to an auto collision center, where a superficial diagnostic inspection was performed, and the contact was informed that no failure was found. …
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. No air bags deployed. The contact stated that she and her front-seat passenger sustained no injuries however the other vehicle driver was seen by the EMTs on the scene. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an authorized Tesla Center and was awaiting diagnosis. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The contact stated that she was informed by the manufacturer that a diagnosis team was working on the diagnosis. The approximate failure mileage was 473.
The contact owned a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving at 30-40 MPH, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated causing the contact to lose control of the vehicle and crash into the rear of a parked vehicle. The vehicle continued to accelerate and traveled across the street crashing into another parked vehicle. The vehicle continued to accelerate on its own forward and over a sidewalk and crashed into two street signs when it came to a stop. No warning lights were illuminated. No injuries were sustained. No air nags deployed. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an autobody center. The insurance company deemed the vehicle totaled. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 12,000.
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while attempting to park the vehicle, the vehicle accelerated unintendedly. As a result, the vehicle jumped the curb and crashed into a barrier wall. The air bags did not deploy. No warning lights were illuminated. A Police report was not filed. There was no injury sustained. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 1,800.
New Tesla Model Y brake failed and accelerated resulted in a serious crash within 2 hrs of taking delivery. I believe it is acceleration functioning and brake due to auto pilot feature. Vehicle will be available for inspection after 4 weeks. After taking delivery of new Tesla Y, we drove to temple. While parking car accelerated and lost control of the vehicle as brakes were not working. It hit the temple wall and when we tried to backup to get the car out of the crashed wall, it got even worse. It reversed in lightning speed and hit another car, run over the bushes and huge palm tree across the street and finally stopped. This terrifying experience caused huge mental trauma, multiple property damage, and financial hardship that we are dealing with right now. Fortunately, there were no injuries. We lost all the trust and confidence in Tesla. …
I was pulling up to a ticket machine in a parking garage. I had my foot on the accelerator and was using regenerative braking and was essentially stopped. I was short a few inches from the button to get the ticket so applied almost no pressure to the accelerator - more like a tap so I could go forward a few inches. The car went into full acceleration mode, broke through the ticket machine barrier and kept accelerating. As soon as I sensed going forward too fast, I took my foot off the accelerator and put it onto the brake. I did not feel any response from the brake. With my foot. I managed to steer away from a wall in front of the car but hit a parked car. The impact pushed that car into a second car and then that car pushed into a third car and the third car pushed into a fourth car. My car was totaled as well as three others. …
I was driving at a very slow speed of 1 mile per hr as I entered into the Kohls complex in Pleasanton ca. Then as I was pulling the car to a parking spot, all of a sudden I felt the car accelerated on me. My foot was always on the break and I pressed the break but the car still accelerated at a speed I had no control and it went over the parking bump and hit 2 cars that was parked opposite. I felt out of control and scary because the car was not doing as intended, to stop when pressed the break. I then pressed the park button. Then I also reversed because the car was not stopping. There was totally 4 cars damaged including my car. 2 opposite and 1 parked side of me. I could feel the sudden acceleration in the car and out of control feeling. Luckily there were no people in other car so no one was hurt. I was also not hurt. …
On Saturday 16th Oct 2026 around 10 AM EST, while driving down the ramp from Parking Floor 2 to Parking Floor 1 in the JFK Terminal 4 Short Term Parking garage (John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York), the Tesla vehicle suddenly accelerated forward very fast on its own without any input on the accelerator pedal. Either I was not pressing the gas pedal at the time, or I was slowing pressing as the car was going down on ramp. The car surged ahead with significant force and struck a fence at the bottom/end of the ramp area. There were two passengers in the vehicle. No other vehicles were involved. The impact caused: My Tesla Model Y to sustain severe front-end damage and appear to be a total loss. Injuries to both passengers. Minor scratches on my hands. …
I was driving my Tesla in self drive mode, and ibecause it started raining. I reduce the speed to standard. I had a notification on the screen, an alert in red. That the tesla reached the maximum speed in that mode "standard". I was surprised and decided ti canceled the FSD feature and took control of the vehicle. Then when I was driving in the expressway very close to my exit on the right lane, the car accelerated by itself and turn to the left unexpectedly. I tried to returned the car to my lane and I never had control again of the car. Not the steering wheel, not the breaks responded. I was spinning on the expressway until I hit the concrete barrier with the rear bumper. Hopefully I did not hit any car nor they didn't hit me. The car shutdown after the impact. Tesla sent me the footage of the impact, ignoring the moment that caused that incident that was some seconds before. …
COMPONENT/SYSTEM THAT FAILED: The service brakes failed to stop the vehicle. While reverse-parking at low (parking) speed, I applied the brake pedal and the vehicle did not stop as expected, resulting in contact with an object and vehicle damage. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request; it has been preserved and driven only minimally since the event. HOW SAFETY WAS PUT AT RISK: The brakes failed with no warning. Had a person been behind the vehicle, the failure to stop could have caused injury. This is the only vehicle for a family with three children who are regularly transported in it, and I no longer feel safe driving them. REPRODUCED/CONFIRMED BY A DEALER OR SERVICE CENTER: Not yet. INSPECTED BY MANUFACTURER/POLICE/INSURANCE/OTHERS: The insurer opened and then denied the claim and stated that no vehicle telemetry/data was available to preserve. …
NHTSA investigations
Sudden Unintended Acceleration
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.
Acceleration complaints in other Model Y years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2023 Tesla Model Y?
NHTSA has 168 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2023 Tesla Model Y, 14% of the model year's 1,185 complaints. The component named most often is accelerator pedal (3 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2023 Tesla Model Y acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2023 Tesla Model Y, though it has 17 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2023 Tesla Model Y acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 9,000 miles, and 70% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 36 crashes, 0 fires and 15 injuries to speed control & acceleration problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.