2020 TESLA MODEL Y Lane Departure Problems

35 complaints about Lane Departure

35
Complaints
3
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Deaths

High Severity Issue

This component has been associated with crashes, fires, or deaths.

This Problem Across All Years

All Lane Departure Complaints (35)

Dec 26, 2025

Car was on complete auto pilot on mayland highway 270 and car suddenly took exit with any command and notification. Car was very close , few feet away from the guardrail at 55 mile per hour. This could have been a life threatening event with such decisions made by car. I saved all the dash cam videos of such two occurrence. I no longer have any trust in auto pilot software after too many mishaps with recent updates.

Dec 26, 2025

Car was on complete auto pilot on mayland highway 270 and car suddenly took exit with any command and notification. Car was very close , few feet away from the guardrail at 55 mile per hour. This could have been a life threatening event with such decisions made by car. I saved all the dash cam videos of such two occurrence. I no longer have any trust in auto pilot software after too many mishaps with recent updates.

Feb 25, 2025

My Advance Driving assist (FSD for Tesla) stop working randomly. Adaptive Cruse control stoped working, forward collision stopped working. Backup camera randomly disconnect when parking. All of this happened right after a software update. I have contacted Tesla several times. They quoted me $2,666.96 to address the issue. Isn't this a Safety feature of the Car Specially when I paid $10,000.00 extra when I purchase the car to have FSD? All of the advanced driving assistance and collision warning stopped working as well.

Jan 22, 2025

After installing Software version 2024.45.25.15 (Full Self Driving software 12.6.2) on my 2020 Tesla Model Y with Autopilot Hardware v3, I experienced unsafe behavior by the autopilot/automatic safety system. On my second drive after the software update, I was unable to engage the autopilot system. Two “Phantom” cars appeared on the full self driving visualization. One “phantom” vehicle was on the left side of the vehicle in my blind spot. A second “phantom” vehicle was shown about 20 feet ahead and 50 feet to the left of my vehicle. (See screen shots). When I attempted to turn left, the automatic lane keep and blind spot warnings took over and attempted to avoid the phantom vehicle. I was able to override the system, but it caused repeated alarms and attempts to move the vehicle back into the lane.

Jan 22, 2025

After installing Software version 2024.45.25.15 (Full Self Driving software 12.6.2) on my 2020 Tesla Model Y with Autopilot Hardware v3, I experienced unsafe behavior by the autopilot/automatic safety system. On my second drive after the software update, I was unable to engage the autopilot system. Two “Phantom” cars appeared on the full self driving visualization. One “phantom” vehicle was on the left side of the vehicle in my blind spot. A second “phantom” vehicle was shown about 20 feet ahead and 50 feet to the left of my vehicle. (See screen shots). When I attempted to turn left, the automatic lane keep and blind spot warnings took over and attempted to avoid the phantom vehicle. I was able to override the system, but it caused repeated alarms and attempts to move the vehicle back into the lane.

Oct 24, 2024

After being parked on a suburban street for about 3 hours, our Tesla Model Y experienced a complete loss of power-steering assist, requiring extreme hand-over-hand effort to turn the wheel and making it dangerous to drive. Warnings of "Steering assist reduced" and "Lane departure avoidance features unavailable" appeared on the display. After a 3-week wait, we finally got the vehicle to Tesla service, who diagnosed the issue and claimed that it was due to "...rodent damage to steering rack harness". They claim to have repaired the damage and the vehicle is again usable. Repair bill was $990. I have the vehicle and it is available for inspection. I cannot verify cause of the issue nor the repairs as they are not visible without a partial disassembly of the vehicle. No parts were returned to me (as I requested), so I must assume that none were actually replaced.

Oct 24, 2024

After being parked on a suburban street for about 3 hours, our Tesla Model Y experienced a complete loss of power-steering assist, requiring extreme hand-over-hand effort to turn the wheel and making it dangerous to drive. Warnings of "Steering assist reduced" and "Lane departure avoidance features unavailable" appeared on the display. After a 3-week wait, we finally got the vehicle to Tesla service, who diagnosed the issue and claimed that it was due to "...rodent damage to steering rack harness". They claim to have repaired the damage and the vehicle is again usable. Repair bill was $990. I have the vehicle and it is available for inspection. I cannot verify cause of the issue nor the repairs as they are not visible without a partial disassembly of the vehicle. No parts were returned to me (as I requested), so I must assume that none were actually replaced.

Aug 28, 2024

I have Tesla’s FSD software that consistently tries to enter closed highway ramps where the flags, lights and barriers are clearly marked as “do not enter”. I have reported this to Tesla a dozen times with no improvement or response. I’m sure there will be retaliation for this but I am sick and tired of swerving to avoid a fatal collision. Too many other safety issues with FSD to document.

Jan 24, 2024

Failure of all cameras, gps, and lane keeping system. It is available for inspection. It occurred after software update was pushed to the car. Tesla service has seen the vehicle and says that the internal computer has a fault and needs to be replaced. Yet, oddly enough, there are a lot of identical failures reported in Tesla owner forums. Around the same time as my failure in mid-December 2023. No prior indication of computer failure occurred. And the computer is still operational for items not related to the cameras and GPS. Safety concerns: The rear windshield has limited visibility, which is not an issue when the cameras are functioning. The safety notification when changing lanes does not work without the cameras and sensors. The lane keeping and adaptive cruise control do not work without the cameras and sensors. Tesla should investigate if a software update they sent over the air created the problem with cameras and lane keeping assist.

Jan 24, 2024

Failure of all cameras, gps, and lane keeping system. It is available for inspection. It occurred after software update was pushed to the car. Tesla service has seen the vehicle and says that the internal computer has a fault and needs to be replaced. Yet, oddly enough, there are a lot of identical failures reported in Tesla owner forums. Around the same time as my failure in mid-December 2023. No prior indication of computer failure occurred. And the computer is still operational for items not related to the cameras and GPS. Safety concerns: The rear windshield has limited visibility, which is not an issue when the cameras are functioning. The safety notification when changing lanes does not work without the cameras and sensors. The lane keeping and adaptive cruise control do not work without the cameras and sensors. Tesla should investigate if a software update they sent over the air created the problem with cameras and lane keeping assist.

Jan 16, 2024 Crash

The contact owns a 2020 Tesla Model Y. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number 23V838000 (Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact was driving at an undisclosed mph up a driveway with autopilot on, the contact engaged autosteer by veering to the left before the vehicle crashed into the mailbox. There were no injuries and no police report. The lane departure warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the Tesla Collision Center to be diagnosed. The technician stated the following components failed, steering, the land departure warning, and the avoidance warning, however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 40,000.  VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Mileage: 40,000

Jan 4, 2024

All the cameras in the vehicle are inoperable which causes autopilot not to work. The lane assist feature of the vehicle has stopped working. Driver has to constantly adjust to keep the vehicle from veering into traffic. The navigational system in the vehicle does not work. These safety issues require Tesla's immediate attention as this may lead to a fatal accident.

Dec 27, 2023

This year I was charged $650 to replace both upper control arms, lower suspension links that I now find out was a known quality problem with Tesla. No recalls were issued despite this being a safety concern for drivers since it affects steering. I read that Tesla told service employees to tell customers that they had "abused" their car and that was the reason for the failure. I drive on perfect roads and without any load in the car, so clearly I didn't abuse it. It began with a Creaking sound when making a sharp turn or parking from steering or front suspension They replaced: Replaced LH Front Upper Control Arm. Replaced RH Front Upper Control Arm. Replaced LH compliance Lower Front Suspension Link. Replaced RH Aft Lower Front Suspension Link. NOTE: I tried two different browsers buy your site has a bug that won't allow uploads of documents, so I could not include the receipt. When one clicks on "upload files" the button disappears, and it won't let you upload.

Dec 25, 2023

ChatGPT Subject: Safety Concerns Regarding Recent Tesla Autopilot Changes (Campaign #23V-838) Dear NHTSA, I am writing to express my concerns regarding the recent required changes to Tesla's autopilot system under Campaign #23V-838. While I understand the importance of updates for safety, it appears that these modifications have had an adverse impact on the vehicle's safety and increased the potential dangers of driving. I urge the NHTSA to thoroughly investigate and address these issues to ensure the continued safety of Tesla vehicles on the road. Your prompt attention to this matter is crucial for the well-being of Tesla drivers and the public at large.

Sep 3, 2023

On a round trip from Albuquerque, NM to Tucson, AZ, we experienced 8-10 instances of phantom braking in our 2020 Tesla Long-Range Model Y. The occurrences happened when the car was in adaptive cruise control and lane keeping assistance. Highway speed was typically 75 MPH, weather was sunny, and roads were clear. Overall, an unnerving experience!

Aug 11, 2023

Tesla advertises lane keeping assist, emergency lane departure assist etc. What happens is if you trigger this feature too many times during a drive the software disables this safety feature entirely. There are plenty of disclosures about not relying on the features etc. The issue i feel that warrants intervention from your departments is, how can a manufacture completely disable a safety feature just because a driver actually relied on said safety feature.

Aug 11, 2023

Tesla advertises lane keeping assist, emergency lane departure assist etc. What happens is if you trigger this feature too many times during a drive the software disables this safety feature entirely. There are plenty of disclosures about not relying on the features etc. The issue i feel that warrants intervention from your departments is, how can a manufacture completely disable a safety feature just because a driver actually relied on said safety feature.

Apr 22, 2023

On several occasions, my car will either i) slam on the brakes when in assisted driving for no reason, ii) start beeping for a lab departure when I have no even made the slightest move to switch lanes, iii) windows will roll back down when I try to roll them up (not sure if that’s related to the FSD issues). I paid an extra $15,000 for FSD and not only does it not work, but it seems to have created unsafe driving conditions in my car.

Mar 15, 2023

Prior to the incident a message appeared in the car indicating that the Lane Departure Avoidance features unavailable - Features may be restored on next drive. TACC was activated on the car. Auto Steer was not activated. The car is equipped with Autopilot only. It was traveling in the furthest left lane. A truck in the center lane attempted to merge into the left lane where our tesla model y was traveling. The car then steered hard left causing the car to be nearly our of control and swerving left and right. We were able to get the car under control, but we nearly were run off the road.

Feb 21, 2023

~3 times the car slowed down at ~65mph while on cruise control. Thank goodness no one was closely following us!!! DANGEROUS!!! The car lane assist feature which should warn when us when we're veering to closely to another lane or the edge of the freeway only works intermittently.

Nov 19, 2022

In Tesla’s from model years before 2021, the side “repeater cameras” that are rear facing suffer from a light-leak of the blinker. There are three small holes in the PCB circuit board that allow light from the blinker to leak into the camera at night. Tesla subsequently fixed this problem, first by applying a sticker over the holes in the circuit board, and later by redesigning the part entirely. But this “light leak” problem exists on hundreds of thousands of cars. There are two problems with this: 1) Tesla has now changed their “Autopilot” and “Full Self Driving” software to a Tesla Vision system that ONLY uses cameras for the autopilot features, including lane keeping and lane changes. They no longer use ultrasonic sensors or forward looking radar, even though it is still installed on these cars. This reliance on vision makes it impossible for the Tesla side facing cameras to see when the blinker is turned on. This can result in unpredictable behavior when changing lanes or turning at night with autopilot engaged, including unpredictable or erratic driving where the car abandons a lane change mid course and swerves back into the lane. 2) Even when autopilot is not engaged, the blind spot monitoring in this car consists of a pop up window on the center screen showing the side view camera when the turn signal is engaged. At night, with the blinker on, the driver sees a bright light flashing intermittently in the side view camera. This is very distracting and potentially hazardous to the driver. Tesla has refused to replace the cameras on my car under warranty because they state the cameras are “neither a defect of materials nor workmanship” and are an “expected condition based on the inherent capability of the camera design”.

Nov 19, 2022

In Tesla’s from model years before 2021, the side “repeater cameras” that are rear facing suffer from a light-leak of the blinker. There are three small holes in the PCB circuit board that allow light from the blinker to leak into the camera at night. Tesla subsequently fixed this problem, first by applying a sticker over the holes in the circuit board, and later by redesigning the part entirely. But this “light leak” problem exists on hundreds of thousands of cars. There are two problems with this: 1) Tesla has now changed their “Autopilot” and “Full Self Driving” software to a Tesla Vision system that ONLY uses cameras for the autopilot features, including lane keeping and lane changes. They no longer use ultrasonic sensors or forward looking radar, even though it is still installed on these cars. This reliance on vision makes it impossible for the Tesla side facing cameras to see when the blinker is turned on. This can result in unpredictable behavior when changing lanes or turning at night with autopilot engaged, including unpredictable or erratic driving where the car abandons a lane change mid course and swerves back into the lane. 2) Even when autopilot is not engaged, the blind spot monitoring in this car consists of a pop up window on the center screen showing the side view camera when the turn signal is engaged. At night, with the blinker on, the driver sees a bright light flashing intermittently in the side view camera. This is very distracting and potentially hazardous to the driver. Tesla has refused to replace the cameras on my car under warranty because they state the cameras are “neither a defect of materials nor workmanship” and are an “expected condition based on the inherent capability of the camera design”.

Nov 15, 2022 Crash

On 9/11/22 at approximately 1:30PM I was driving north on I65 in northern Tennessee just before the Kentucky border. Conditions were heavy rain. Traffic was moving but heavy. I had autopilot engaged. I was traveling approximately 70 mph. Three lanes of traffic. I was in the far left lane. I had my hands on the steering wheel. Without any prior notice, I lost total control of the car. Seemingly all four wheels were autoplaning due to the wet pavement. I had zero control of the car. The car seemed to slow down, drifted into the full shoulder left lane, then rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise and hit the concrete center median. The car then rotated another 90 degrees counterclockwise and came to a full stop all in the left shoulder lane. The front airbags deployed. There were three people in the car. We were not injured and left the vehicle on our own. Miraculously no other vehicles hit our vehicle

Apr 15, 2022

Four times in the last six weeks (three while driving) the car has lost all power. My screen either freezes or goes completely black so I have no speedometer, the blinkers do not work, I cannot control the windows or open the doors without the manual override. This usually lasts for 3-5 minutes, sometimes longer - and then the computer resets and everything reloads. Tesla is telling me it is a known issue and I have to wait until they figure out the firmware issue and get the next update. They were not at all concerned about the safety of the car and gave me no suggestions on how to continue to drive safely. The date entered below is the most recent occurrence

Feb 27, 2022

Blind spot camera is unusable at night due to bleed through of light from turn signal.

Feb 25, 2022

When you turn on the either signal at night you can not see a clear picture on the blind spot camera's, they have a red haze on the display. It get so bad sometimes you can see anything. It looks like it's caused from the camera and turn signal being in the same housing. I have video I can send you.

Feb 17, 2022

We experienced multiple (4-5) "phantom" braking events while driving cross-country using Adaptive Cruise Control & Lane Keeping Assistance on open Interstate highways during the summer of 2021. There were no vehicles or other obstacles in our driving lane ahead. Sometimes it seemed like it happened when we approached a shady underpass. Other times we couldn't see anything that might have confused the Adaptive Cruise Control. We did not have full Autopilot engaged during any of these times, only Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keeping Assistance.

Jan 20, 2022

Side cameras have terrible glare which make them useless

Dec 31, 2021

Turn signal causes excessive glare effect on the side repeater cameras during nighttime use. Driver is unable to view blind spot camera feed properly when engaging in a lane change.

Nov 18, 2021

On open freeway, I 76 between 7 am and 8 am Tuesday November 16, between Ogdallala NE and Brush CO. Using adaptive cruise control with autopilot steering (as well as without autosteer), multiple episodes of severe "phantom breaking" where the car slams on the breaks for no apparent reason. No other cars around. Flat, clear open freeway. Reported the issue to Tesla service. Even though there were multiple (>10 episodes in one hour) they have demanded to know the exact time stamp. I was able to give time within 1 hour period, vehicle location. Service says if there is a hardware issue they will look at it. If it is "firmware" it will need to wait for a firm ware update. This is dangerous. What if the car slams on the breaks at 80mph, with someone following close behind? You might be rearended. Really serious safety issue. My car has latest FSD beta 10.4. This is much worse than before this "upgrade"

Oct 24, 2021

I installed the Full Self-Driving Beta on my Tesla Model Y the morning of 10/24/2021. Immediately after the update installed I began experiencing issues with the Autopilot and TACC systems, as well as spurious forward collision warnings. These warnings involved the standard warning beeps and red indicators on the driving display, and at one point included an unnecessary emergency braking incident when no obstacle was in front of me. As such, I had reverted to driving the car in manual mode, not on autopilot, but left the option to use the autopilot systems and associated safety features enabled. I was driving in full manual mode on an interstate in the left lane approaching a tunnel, with no vehicles or obstacles in front of me. The car indicated a forward collision warning with the loud beeps, and the car applied brakes and started to swerve into the lane immediately to my right, in which another vehicle was driving and had to swerve as well. The car detected the event and saved the camera footage to my installed SSD. I have reported the incident to Tesla, including providing the video of the incident. I am awaiting response from Tesla.

Jul 30, 2021 Crash

Backup camera appeared in on screen window as usual when I put the car in reverse to back into my parking spot. The camera looked clear and trajectory lines moved appropriately when I turned the steering wheel. However, main backup view in center of screen did not update as I moved the vehicle backward, it remained on a static, still frame of video. I reversed into a low fence post that I knew was behind me somewhere but could not be seen when looking out the rear window or using any of the mirrors. I usually look to the backup camera to show me where this post is and help back up close to it. There is a large blind spot behind this model of car that is well covered by the camera, but now that is has happened to me I have found many reports of the issue happening to others. Video of issue: https://youtu.be/CC_0JKObpIk

Jan 31, 2021

THE OTHER DAY I WAS STOPPED AT A RED LIGHT, AWAITING GREEN IN A LEFT TURN ONLY LANE. IT WAS A LONG LIGHT AND I MAY HAVE BEEN DISTRACTED BY A CONVERSATION WITH MY PASSENGER. I AM 99% CERTAIN THAT I DID NOT HAVE MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL BECAUSE I RARELY USE IT NOW-A-DAYS WITH REGENERATIVE BRAKING AND TACC. THE GREEN LIGHT CHIMED AND I INSTINCTIVELY PUSHED UPWARD ON THE RIGHT STALK, DOUBLE CHECKING (IN MY MIND) THAT I HAD DISABLED TACC AND AUTOPILOT, KNOWING THAT I WAS ABOUT TO TURN LEFT. UNFORTUNATELY THIS 'CONDITIONED' BEHAVIOR OF MINE INADVERTENTLY PUT THE CAR IN REVERSE!! I PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR AND NEARLY BACKED INTO THE CAR BEHIND ME. IT COMPLETELY CAUGHT ME OFF GUARD SINCE MY EXPECTATION WAS THAT THE CAR WOULD MOVE FORWARD. OBVIOUSLY I WAS WRONG. THE DRIVER BEHIND ME WAS DISTURBED, HOWEVER I DID AVOID MAKING CONTACT BY HITTING THE BRAKE PEDAL. WHILE I CERTAINLY REALIZE THAT I AM FULLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONFUSION, I DO BELIEVE THAT TESLA SAFETY ENGINEERS MIGHT WANT TO EXPLORE THIS SCENARIO AND SEEK OUT A PREVENTIVE SAFE-GUARD. PERHAPS SOFTWARE CAN PREVENT CAR FROM SWITCHING TO REVERSE UNLESS THE BRAKE PEDAL IS DEPRESSED. OR MAYBE A MUCH LARGER "R" INDICATOR THAT BLINKS AND BEEPS. I'M SURE IT IS AN EASY FIX.

Mileage: 5,200

Dec 27, 2020

I REALIZED THAT MODEL Y 2020 DOESN'T NOT HAVE PEDESTRIAN WARNINGS SPEAKERS EVEN THOUGH MY CAR BUILT IS FROM 2020 (BETWEEN JUNE-AUGUST). I TOOK THIS DELIVERY OF MODEL Y IN EARLY FIRST WEEK OF SEPTEMBER. I AM WONDERING NHTSA MANDATE THIS LAW IN SEPTEMBER OF 2019. SINCE MY CAR DO NOT HAVE EVEN PRODUCED IN 2020. I AM REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT PEDESTRIAN POPPING OUT FROM NO WHERE. THERE WERE SOME TIMES I ALMOST NEAR MISS PEDESTRIANS. THIS MANDATORY FEATURE COULD HAVE HELPED.

Mileage: 2

Dec 9, 2020

MY CAR IS A 2020 MODEL Y, DELIVERED ON JUNE 27, 2020. THIS FALL, I'VE HAD AN ISSUE CROP UP THAT LOOKS LIKE IT'S BEEN ADDRESSED IN THE PAST (AT LEAST FOR MODELS S, X AND 3 BEFORE MARCH 31, 2019). THE PROBLEM IS THAT ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS (SPECIFICALLY ON 11/26/20) WHILE DRIVING ON CITY STREETS AND WITH HUMID AND COOL WEATHER (HERE IN IOWA) I'VE HAD A REPORT ON MY DISPLAY INDICATING THAT THE B PILLAR CAMERA IS OBSCURED. THIS, OF COURSE, WOULD DISABLE AUTO DRIVE (INCLUDING AUTO LANE CHANGE) BUT I'M ALSO CONCERNED THAT THIS BLIND SPOT MAY MEAN THAT LANE CHANGE PROTECTION DURING TRAFFIC AWARE CRUISE CONTROL (I.E. *NOT* AUTO DRIVE) WILL NOT WORK, OR NOT BE VERY EFFECTIVE, EITHER. THE ONLY FORMAL REFERENCE I CAN LOCATE FOR THIS PROBLEM IS SERVICE BULLETIN SB-20-12-002 BUT THE REMEDY PROPOSED THERE HAS APPARENTLY BEEN IMPLEMENTED ON ALL PRODUCTION VEHICLES STARTING ON MARCH 31, 2019. WELL, THAT SOLUTION FOR THIS DESIGN DEFECT CLEARLY DOES NOT WORK. ON NOVEMBER 26, 2020 (THE DATE OF THE FIRST OCCURRENCE OF THIS ISSUE ON MY MODEL Y), I REQUESTED A SERVICE APPOINTMENT. THIS WAS BASED ON THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE PROBLEM GIVEN THE DISPLAY WARNING I RECEIVED WHICH REQUESTED THAT I STOP THE VEHICLE AND CLEAR THE OBSCURATION IMMEDIATELY. UPON STOPPING, A GLANCE AT THE B PILLAR CAMERA LOCATION SHOWED THAT THE ISSUE WAS ONE OF CONDENSATION ON THE INSIDE OF THE PROTECTIVE GLASS OVER THE CAMERA (SEE ATTACHED). FROM ONLINE FORUMS, IT'S CLEAR THAT I'M FAR FROM ALONE IN HAVING THIS ISSUE. MY SERVICE APPOINTMENT DATE WAS ORIGINALLY SET FOR DECEMBER 17, 2020 BUT HAS BEEN CANCELED AS OF TODAY. THE SERVICE CENTER HANDLING MY REQUESTS IS SAYING THAT THIS IS "NORMAL" OPERATION OF THE VEHICLE AND, WHILE THE CAMERA MAY BE OPERATING AS DESIGNED, I DISAGREE THAT IT SHOULD BE WORKING THIS WAY SINCE IT REMOVES BLIND SPOT AWARENESS FROM THE VEHICLE'S SOFTWARE SYSTEM AND THE OCCURRENCE IS RANDOM.

Mileage: 4,000