2020 Tesla Model X Driver assistance Problems

While driving my Tesla Model X on the interstate at highway speed, the vehicle began intermittently displaying false warnings that the trunk was open. This occurred multiple times during the drive and appears to have been caused by a malfunctioning trunk latch sensor. At the time, I was using Autosteer, part of Tesla’s Autopilot driver-assistance system. Each time the false trunk-open condition occurred, Autosteer immediately and unexpectedly disengaged. Under normal circumstances, when Autosteer disengages while I am driving, the vehicle provides an audible alert and a visual warning instructing the driver to take control immediately. During these incidents, neither warning occurred. There was no audible alert and no visual notification informing me that Autosteer had disengaged or that I needed to immediately resume steering. The system simply stopped providing automatic steering assistance. Because there was no warning that Autosteer had disengaged, I did not immediately realize that the vehicle was no longer maintaining its lane. The vehicle drifted into the adjacent lane before I recognized what had happened and regained control. Fortunately, there was no vehicle in the adjacent lane. Had another vehicle been present, this could have resulted in a collision. This occurred multiple times during the drive. The false trunk-open warning repeatedly caused Autosteer to disengage without the normal audible or visual disengagement warnings. My primary safety concern is not simply the malfunctioning trunk latch sensor. The safety concern is that a failure of an unrelated trunk latch sensor can cause Autosteer to suddenly disengage at highway speed without providing the driver with an audible or visual warning that automatic steering assistance has been lost. In my case, this failure mode resulted in an unintended lane departure. A relatively minor sensor malfunction should not be capable of causing an unannounced loss of automatic steering assistance.

NHTSA ID

11756594

Incident

Aug 7, 2026

On or about 20Jun2025: Tesla Driver Assistance Features - After the most recent 2025.20.3 softball update and installation my safety feature of the blind spot monitoring doesn't chim when a car is in my blind spot the car will show red in the font display but the sounds are now inoperable

NHTSA ID

11677957

Incident

Jun 20, 2025

This is a major safety issue --- we got an error that steering assistance was "reduced" for about 12 hours. Then on [XXX] at around [XXX], we were pulling out of a parked area (after being parked for 2 hours) -- and proceeded to increase speed on [XXX] in Newark, the car steering wheel abruptly LOCKED ITSELF - you couldn't even move the steering wheel. It just locked and shut down completely. We proceeded to do a rest (hitting two scroll buttons) to reset the system over 5-6 times. Each time it takes about 10 mins to complete. It was pure HORROR - sitting on the road with cars just passing by and honking at me behind. I had the hazard lights on, but it was a dangerous situation. I was completely STUCK and immobile. After some time, the steering wheel "magically" started working again. We've dropped the Tesla off at Springfield and they are charging us over $6,000 in damages for this. This is a SAFETY issue (we bought the car in March of 2024) and it's only been 15 months since we've had this used car. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11666287

Incident

Jun 9, 2025

Steering assist reduced. It has been faulty for the past six months and auto pilot doesn’t work. Not repaired as the cost of repair is 5K.

NHTSA ID

11658020

Incident

Nov 12, 2024

Eil

NHTSA ID

11626567

Incident

Nov 21, 2024

Tesla updated my vehicle with FSD 12.5.2.1 and it is dangerous and should be recalled. The software is too much for my vehicles processor, it frequently freezes for as long as 10 seconds. This loses my speedometer, my signal information, and happened while merging and nearly caused me an accident. The lane keep assist has retrograded significantly, it often goes outside of the painted lines and is in danger of hitting curbs. The processor feels like it struggles to keep up, and the auto steer is unsettled and jerky as it changes its mind. Previous software worked great, Tesla is pushing the software beyond the hardwares capabilities and it’s going to cause accidents. Please stop them.

NHTSA ID

11615386

Incident

Sep 19, 2024

ON [XXX], while driving my second Tesla Model X on [XXX] from Carson City back to Reno at the speed of 79 mph on Autopilot, the same sudden loud alarming situation occurred, with 1. park Assist unavailable 2. Steering assist reduced 3. Adaptive ride control degraded 4. Traction control disabled 5. Stability control disabled 6. Lane departure avoidance features unavailable 7. Automatic emergency Braking is unavailable 8. Automatic vehicle hold disabled. I drove to s stop, the car can't park but remained in neutral gear. Can't hard reset. With my prior experience 1 month ago, I changed it into Tow mode several times, finally was able to switch into Park mode then was able to do a hard reset. When I brought in to Tesla, they said it's the SAME problem, steering rack issue. Another $5300 is gone. How can I be so unlucky to be hit with same model, different year, same problem, same driving condition and almost same place on earth, and both out of warranty and I have to pay in full? There must be manufacture defect on this!!!!!! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11579415

Incident

Mar 21, 2024

On [XXX] at [XXX] my 2020 Tesla Model X Long Range Plus suddenly started braking while on the highway. I was driving 75MPH to San Diego from Arizona. There was no vehicles around or in front while using the cruise control. This also has been an issue with our 2023 Tesla Model Y and previous Model 3 while driving to Las Vegas at 70MPH. I really think this is safety concern. Luckily there was vehicles behind us with all incidents that took place. I recently took the 2020 Tesla Model X on [XXX] for the issue and the technician found no issues while driving it. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11567396

Incident

Jan 12, 2024

On December 9th, 2023 my 2020 TESLA Model X accelerator pedal broke off while accelerating up a hill. This caused the vehicle to stop and become undrivable on a blind curve uphill. This caused a significant safety risk to me and other drivers. The vehicle had to be towed with police assistance to block traffic due to where the vehicle became inoperable. I had to pay out of pocket about $500 for the repair plus $450 in towing expenses.

NHTSA ID

11561075

Incident

Dec 9, 2023

Brakes will lock up a pre collision will activate in forward and reverse when no objects are present. It is a hazard to operate the vehicle since it will randomly slam in the brakes will driving down the road or reversing out of a parking space. Also electrical issues vehicle will no longer lock or unlock

NHTSA ID

11544306

Incident

Sep 11, 2023

Many hard braking incidents Ignores posted speed limits Been close to being rear ended by following cars

NHTSA ID

11538559

Incident

Aug 11, 2023

The vehicle's A/C system was not working as intended, noticing air is blowing very weak. The vehicle was took to tesla service center and was told that rodents had gotten into the vehicle (not sure how) and chewed wire systems and air filters. Tesla reports the damages affected a/c systems and electrical control for the vehicle including auto pilot assistant. Cost of repair was $2020.17, not covered by tesla insurance.

NHTSA ID

11538192

Incident

Jul 26, 2023

I drive a 2020 Tesla Model X long range plus. I bought it new and now have about 50,000 miles on it. Over the years, I have experienced quite a few phantom breaking incidents when the car was in auto pilot (self steering mode). Most of these were fairly minor in nature and not much of a concern. This July I drove the car to Colorado and back and had innumerable severe phantom breaking events. In the past the breaking would be fairly gentle and a tap on the accelerator would return the car to the preset speed. In July, the car was essentially “slamming on” the brakes and required an aggressive press of the accelerator to disengage the breaking. It felt like the car was going to come to a stop in the middle of the highway. I was cruising about 70 mph and would say that by the time I could get to the accelerator the speed would be down to about 60 mph. None of these events created any problem with other vehicles, but they were disturbing, nonetheless.

NHTSA ID

11534627

Incident

Jul 11, 2023

I have driven this vehicle approximately 28,000 miles. I am the original (and only) owner. When using the cruise control the car will break suddenly and aggressively for no apparent reason on the open road. This has happened more than a dozen times. I cannot say what percentage of my driving is done with adaptive cruise control functioning but I would suspect well less than 30% of the 28K miles. On several occasions I surmise it my be related to oncoming vehicles in their normal lane. Fortunately, these episodes have not resulted in any collisions to date.

NHTSA ID

11526357

Incident

Jun 10, 2023

repeatedly, i have had my car brake harshly when travelling anywhere from 30-55 mph while using adaptive cruise control. there is nevere anything in the road or a car anywhere nearby to warrant a dramatic braking. the decelertion is harsh and alomst caused someone behind me to hit me on 2 occasions. i have repeatedly told Tesla about this and mostly gotten a nebulous response about "hardware" or 'software" issues and that they are working on it. This is dangerous and hurts when it unexpectedly happens!!

NHTSA ID

11524187

Incident

May 15, 2023

On multiple occasions (between 6 and 10) while driving east and west on interstate highway 80 between Reno and Salt Lake City the vehicle executed a phantom braking maneuver while autopilot was engaged. I was east bound on 2/2/23 and 2/24/23 and west bound on 2/7/23 and 3/5/23, i.e., these events occurred on multiple days in multiple locations. On no occasion was there any danger of collision with another vehicle or other obstacle. In fact, the braking was most likely to occur as my vehicle topped a rise in the highway followed by a gental downgrade with no other vehicle or turn in the road for at least a mile ahead. The braking was very hard and caused my vehicle to slow by at least 10 mph before I could react. On one occasion, I immediately accelerated to return to the posted highway speed of 80 mph and the vehicle twice more braked hard after I accelerated back to highway speed. Had there been a vehicle behind me, it's likely I would have been rear-ended on multiple occasions. The problem has not been independently verified (though I understand the NHTSA has received many similar reports). The vehicle has not been inspected. There was no warning that the vehicle was going to brake hard though I recognized the circumstances in which it was likely to occur and was prepared to accelerate to counteract the effect. The section of I-80 in which these events occurred is lightly traveled and if Tesla autopilot should be flawless, it should be flawless there! Another source of autopilot phantom braking is flashing lights next to the road warning of animal crossing or prison zones. However, in this case, the braking is gentle and not a hazard. In contrast, 2022 when driving the same section of I-80, phantom braking, as described above, was much less of a problem but flashing lights prompted the vehicle to brake hard. It appears Tesla has fixed flashing light-related problem.

NHTSA ID

11512898

Incident

Feb 2, 2023

Sudden acceleration

NHTSA ID

11507642

Incident

Aug 24, 2022

On 8/16/2022 Tuesday, I went to work at about 10:24 and parked by the road next to mcDonalds to call my husband. I wanted him to take the car to park elsewhere as that spot had no parking starting at 10:30. My husband was not available so I was about to move the car and had my feet slightly touching the brake. At that point the car suddenly accelerated and jumped forward without any control and hit a car that was coming out of mcDonalds driveway. That car was about 15/20 feet away from my car and I hit on the driver’s side. My car was in such speed that it pushed the other car 6 feet on the other side which in turn hit a pedestrian crossing the road. I am 100% sure that I did not press the accelerator and the car moved by itself in such force that I had no chance of controlling it. I’ve asked Tesla to investigate as well

NHTSA ID

11482661

Incident

Aug 16, 2022

Tesla model X is infamous for its acceleration shudder. they have replaced the drive shafts twice already. when you accelerate the wheel vibrates only between 15-35 mph. When you brake hard it does the same thing.

NHTSA ID

11481860

Incident

Aug 29, 2022

I have experienced several issues with my car: It brakes suddenly for no reason in the middle of the freeway It displayed an error message that said the right rear seat safety system has failed and needs service It displayed an error message that said the ultrasonic sensors are not communicating with each other (I believe these are used for the driver safety systems). I reached out to Tesla asking to look into these issues. Each time Tesla denied service and asked me to note down the exact time that these issues happened to help them investigate (they specified the format with an example 06/20/2022 5:22PM PST). If I’m driving the car, how is it safe for me to note down time with this precision? Also, the car has functionality to record all of these alerts but Tesla’s software updates wipe them out (instead of retaining them). Further, Tesla asks to schedule service through their app but in my case, my app doesn’t allow me to schedule service for unknown reasons. I have contacted Tesla about this issue and so far there is no resolution. I feel very unsafe driving my car after receiving these alerts and not getting any help from Tesla to investigate and fix them. I feel they are placing an undue burden on me to record the time. Please help me get my car looked at and fix the issues mentioned above.

NHTSA ID

11478914

Incident

Jun 20, 2022

Recurring Phantom braking every drive

NHTSA ID

11473752

Incident

Jul 12, 2022

When I'm using the driving assistance on the highway, and I'm doing like 60 or 70 mph, all of a sudden the car brakes to 45mph if it (falsely) thinks we are in a construction zone I believe. I have almost gotten in 3 accidents because the car suddenly brakes hard on its own, without me braking.

NHTSA ID

11467935

Incident

Jun 1, 2022

When using any driver assistance function (autopilot, adaptive cruise control, or autopilot with navigation), phantom breaking is common and terrifying. I am scared to use the systems now because of how unpredictable phantom breaking can be and how jarring (and unsafe it could be) when it happens.

NHTSA ID

11467357

Incident

May 13, 2022

While idling in drive having applied my foot to the break, the dash displayed H for holding the break. My car accelerated by itself forcefully into the vehicle in front. My seat belt did not lock up, air bags did not deploy, emergency braking didn’t work, the Tesla box report does not match the dash cam timeline. This was sudden unintended acceleration and I pray it doesn’t happen to anyone else.

NHTSA ID

11459836

Incident

Feb 28, 2022

1) Cruise control randomly resets itself to different speeds. Happens several times daily. I can set it to 55 and 5 seconds later it will reset itself to 80 and accelerate suddenly, or vice-versa. It can change to any speed-either higher or lower than what I've set. Happened yesterday afternoon (3-17). First noted it being a problem 2-28 at about 6 pm MST while driving on 4 lane highway in Colorado, with multiple episodes of randomly resetting speeds itself. Given the rapid acceleration/deceleration of a Tesla, when the cruise control resets itself, the acceleration/braking can be abrupt and significant. 2)Ghost braking has been and remains a problem with this car. It was serviced by Tesla 2-18 and a "chip" was replaced per Tesla. I reported about a dozen incidents of ghost braking to Tesla shortly after picking it up but don't have exact times/days. There are 3 episodes of ghost braking that were truly dangerous. I was driving on the Interstate at 70-75 mph and the car slammed on the brakes for no reason, and it seemed it would have stopped completely in the middle of the Interstate if I hadn't accelerated manually. Speed went from 75 to 50 within 1-2 seconds before I was able to react and accelerate. Twice this happened at about 1-2 am on a completely empty interstate in Nebraska with no one around me at all, but the 3rd time was on a busy highway (I-55) near Chicago. I was nearly rear-ended by another car when this braking occurred. He was able to swerve around me, but was unhappy and made his displeasure known. Even if it didn't directly cause an accident it certainly triggered road rage, which is probably more dangerous than actually having an accident these days. Have told Tesla about it before but they always tell me it's just "software" and will get better with updates I have notified Tesla of these incidents (with written record) but haven't heard back from them. I have a service appointment 3-21-22 to get them to try and address these issues

NHTSA ID

11457253

Incident

Feb 28, 2022