2014 Tesla Model S Brakes Problems

I have been driving my Model S Tesla for 13 years. On 30 April as I was pulling into a parking space at my local grocery store, I applied the brakes to ease into the space and my car surged forward with unintended acceleration. I smashed into the concrete base of a light pole, the airbags deployed and my car ricocheted back about 8 feet. There were no warning messages. I was taken to the emergency room and had whiplash and a burn on my leg from the airbag. No one else was hurt. I know it was the car that malfunctioned because my foot was still on the brake after the collision and the airbags bruised the right side of my right leg. It could not have bruised it in that way if my foot had been on the accelerator. The insurance company inspected and declared a total loss. I obtained the black box data from Tesla and am uploading the documents below. The car is currently at the Tesla collision center. They do not seem interested in evaluating the problem.

NHTSA ID

11741164

Incident

Apr 30, 2026

My car has severe phantom breaking due to adaptive cruise control. When I use my Tesla's cruise control on the freeway, on a complete flat straight away that has no vehicle in front of me, no sign/bridge in front of me, and no items/object in front of me, my vehicle while randomly/violently slam on the break violently hurling me and all passengers in my vehicle forward. This is even more dangerous when there are vehicles being me in close proximity who could easily could have rear ended me all those times. I am forced to not use my cruise control due to these dangerous conditions.

NHTSA ID

11492996

Incident

Jun 12, 2021

Have experienced phantom braking at high speeds which could cause a rear end collision involving the vehicle or vehicles behind me. The phantom braking occurs about once per 500 to 750 miles and always occurs while traveling on the freeway at 60 to 70 mph. Approximately 80% of the time, it occurs at exactly the same place just before a large freeway sign. The occurrences are regardless of surrounding traffic. Sometimes it occurs with many other cars (at safe distance from me), sometimes with a few cars around me and sometimes with no cars within 100 yards in any direction. This one location is located in mid-California, at the north end of Ventura, on US 101 (freeway) northbound about 200 yards south of the Highway 33 (Ojai) cutoff.

NHTSA ID

11484896

Incident

Sep 16, 2022

This is a follow up to my last two complaints of sudden swerves that are probably causd by suspension failure. It is in my opinion highly probable that the suspension is likely to snap when brakes are suddenly slammed on hard at speed. This is known as Tesla "Phantom Braking" and you have hundreds of complaints about this on file. This situation is extremely dangerous. Not only might a Tesla that Phantom Brakes be run over by a following truck but if the suspension snaps it can cause the Tesla to veer into the oncoming lane with fatal results. As a precautionary measure I believe you should immediately ban Tesla adaptive cruise control and autopilot because these are the reason that phantom braking occurs. People are getting killed almost daily. Please stop this deadly experiment. Here is a near miss event. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTk_T4olbws&lc=UgyIL5XI31XvUg7cg_F4AaABAg

NHTSA ID

11480299

Incident

Aug 18, 2022

The autopilot will apply the brakes in what is basically a panic stop any time you are decending from a hill and there is an overpass crossing the roadway. It happens to me on a particular stretch of the freeway almost every single time, and has happened multiple times. Each and every time it occurs it is as the vehicle is decending from a rise and there is an overpass ahead. For some reason the vehicle detects the overpass as an obstruction and slams the brakes. This has happened at least half a dozen times. Fortunately there was never a car following me very closely. I make it a point when I use the auto pilot to be ready to take over at a moment's notice whenever there is an overpass ahead. The vehicle did this with the OLD (original MCS) and the NEW one Tesla just installed.

NHTSA ID

11453901

Incident

Jan 23, 2021

This vehicle has a faulty parking break that will enable it to roll when placed in park. Tesla previously recalled this issue on Model S and X but wants us to pay $1486.66 to have this repaired.

NHTSA ID

11444793

Incident

Sep 3, 2021

I HAVE EXPERIENCED MANY TIMES THAT I PRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL AND THE GAS (ACCELERATION PEDAL ON THE TESLA) PEDAL AT THE SAME WHEN I TRY TO USE THE BRAKE. I HAVE OWN 4 DIFFERENT CARS AND I NEVER EXPERIENCED THAT I AM PRESSING THE BRAKE AND THE GAS PEDAL AT THE SAME TIME. SO I PAY A BIT ATTENTION ON HOW THE GAS PEDAL AND THE BRAKE PEDAL DESIGN. I NOTICE THE GAS PEDAL IS BIGGER IN SIZE AND THE CLEARANCE BETWEEN THE BRAKE AND GAS PEDAL IS LESS THAN ALL THE CARS I OWN (TWO LEXUS AND ONE MERCEDES BENS) OR ANOTHER WORD, THE BRAKE PEDAL AND THE ACCELERATION PEDAL IS TOO CLOSE. ALSO THE BRAKE PEDAL SEEMS A BIT HIGHER. ANYWAY, SUCH DESIGN LAYOUT SEEMS TO CAUSE THE DRIVER PRESSING THE BRAKE AND THE GAS PEDAL AT THE SAME TIME AND HINDER THE ACTION TO STOP THE CAR. I EVEN EXPERIENCED THAT THE CAR ACCELERATE FORWARD WHEN I TRY TO BRAKE THE CAR. I SAW THE NEWS TODAY THAT THERE IS A CAR CRASH INVOLVING A TESLA. I HOPE THE ABOVE MAY BE SOMETHING INTERESTING FOR YOU TO LOOK INTO AND SEE IF IT IS RELATED TO WHAT I HAVE EXPERIENCED. ANY QUESTION, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).' *PM

NHTSA ID

11093584

Incident

May 10, 2018

Mileage

5 mi

I WAS PARKING MY CAR I HEARD AND FELT THE CAR BEGIN TO ACCELERATE. I PUT THE CAR IN PARK AND STEP FIRMLY ON THE BRAKE PEDDLE.THEN OF IT OWN VOLITION IT MOUNTED THE ADJOINING EMBANKMENT AND COLLIDED WITH THE TREE. THIS CAUSED EXTENSIVE FRONT END DAMAGE.

NHTSA ID

10982961

Incident

Feb 14, 2017

Mileage

42,000 mi

SEEING THE VEHICLES A CONSIDERABLE DISTANCE AHEAD OF ME STOPPED FOR A TRAFFIC LIGHT I TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE ACCELERATOR AND ALLOWED THE REGENERATIVE BRAKES TO SLOW MY TESLA DOWN. WHEN I PUT MY FOOT ON THE BRAKES TO STOP THE CAR IT ACCELERATED VERY FAST AND I HIT THE PICKUP TRUCK IN FRONT OF ME WHICH HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF IT. THE AIRBAGS FAILED TO INFLATE. ALTHOUGH THERE WERE NO INJURIES THE PICKUP DRIVER IS SUING GEICO FOR NECK INJURY. THIS WAS A VERY FRIGHTENING SITUATION. MY CAR SUSTAINED SEVERE DAMAGE AND HAD TO BE TOWED TO REPAIR. IT WILL TAKE AT LEAST 30 DAYS TO REPAIR. THE PICKUP ALSO SUSTAINED CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE. THE CAR IT HIT HAD VERY LITTLE DAMAGE.

NHTSA ID

10723925

Incident

May 22, 2015

Mileage

6,000 mi

REPORTEDLY SEVERAL TESLA MODEL S' HAVE HAD ANTILOCK AND POWER ASSIST FAILURES WITH THE BRAKING SYSTEM. *TR

NHTSA ID

10671718

Incident

Jan 10, 2015