Problems · by component
2015 Tesla Model S forward collision avoidance problems
26 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2015 Tesla Model S cite forward collision avoidance, 4% of all 646 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
26
4% of all complaints
Crashes
5
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
1
Reported by owners
What owners say about the forward collision avoidance
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“The car veered suddenly to the left (out of the left lane of a highway) while supervised in auto steer. The driver could not move the steering wheel to avoid a collision with the guardrail as the steering wheel had locked up. The collision warning didn’t sound and emergency brakes did not activate upon impact. The airbags were deployed and the car was totaled.”
“The vehicle was involved in an accident due to a failure of the autopilot system. There was a recall letter sent out of 23V-838 a month prior, but changes either did not persist or was the primary cause of the accident.”
“The MCU that controls the climate and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems stops working while driving. I sent a service request to TESLA and they replied that my older MCU1 is failing because of the new software updates. It isn't the eMMC card hardware failure, but the symptoms and safety concerns are the same. None of the controls work, as the main screen goes blank and resets while driving. TESLA told me the fix for this problem is to upgrade to MCU2, which they fail to provide for free as a safety recall. There was already a recall for the MCU memory chip failing and causing the same safety concern. The car disables the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems when this problem occurs. It happens about once or twice a month for the last year.”
“When driving with autopilot engaged, the vehicle sometimes gives alerts even when there is no vehicle or obstacle in its path. Immediately once the driver takes control, the autopilot does not disengage but continue as usual. The autopilot suddenly brakes or slows down even when there is no obstacle on a freeway.”
“Tesla sent an “Over the Air” software update to my car that compromised the original functionality as designed at the date of manufacture. The software includes advancements that when installed on the original MCU1 hardware causes connectivity issues and significant delays in the Tesla Autopilot system, making the safety assistance system untrustworthy. Tesla informed me this is expected behavior when using the new software on the MCU1 hardware and that it was on the customer to upgrade to the newer MCU2 hardware at a cost of $2250 even when the car is covered under a full warranty.”
“When passing an off-ramp with a vertical wall next to the lane in which the car is travelling, the car sometimes rapidly slows down for no apparent reason. This has occurred at only two such off-ramps: North bound I-5 at 317th in Federal Way only while in the HOV lane and North bound on I-5 at the Berkeley Avenue SW exit at Camp Murray from the right lane.”
Showing 6 of 26 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.