2023 Tesla Model Y Interior & seats Problems

Nuna Exec Next car seat. I have the older version of this car seat for my older child and it works great. The new version ("Next") has an issue where the tigthening/loosening strap folds over and gets stuck, thus making it impossible to loosen the straps and remove the baby from the seat which is very dangerous for the child, especially in case of an emergency. This is not the way the item should work. I contacted the company, they sent me a full replacement. The replacement seat acts the same way, they are willing to send me another shell replacement. This is clearly a production/design issue - not a one-off seat issue.

NHTSA ID

11728756

Incident

Mar 15, 2026

Safety complaint: intermittent uncommanded rear-seat folding while driving; rear (3rd-row) seat belt anchorage integrity. Issue 1 — 2nd-row right seat: Since the purchase, the right-most rear passenger seat in the 2nd row intermittently activates its seat-folding motor while the vehicle is moving. In each event, a passenger was seated in that seat with the seatbelt fastened. The motor engages (audible whirring), and the seat attempts to fold fully forward; the passenger’s body prevents a complete fold, so the seat partially collapses while occupied. This has never occurred when the seat is unoccupied. The most recent documented event times provided to the manufacturer for electronic log review (CST): • Fri Jan 23: 7:40 AM; 7:41 AM • Mon Feb 2: 7:26 AM; 7:29 AM; 7:53 AM; 7:54 AM The manufacturer requested these exact times to check vehicle logs, but reported they could not find evidence in the logs and could not reproduce the issue during service/test drive. Issue 2 — 3rd-row seat belts: During a service visit on Feb 3, 2026, the manufacturer found that the 3rd-row seat belt anchors were not secured to the vehicle (documented as a safety concern) and performed a repair/adjustment to secure the left 3rd-row seat belt, then validated its operation afterward. The manufacturer had also previously documented (March 17, 2025) that the 3rd-row seat belts were not properly mounted and were unsafe/operational for passengers, but took no action in March 2025. No crash, fire, or known injuries to date. Request to NHTSA: Please log and review this as a potential safety defect involving (1) uncommanded activation of a rear seat-folding mechanism resulting in partial seat collapse while the seat is occupied and the vehicle is moving, and (2) rear (3rd-row) seat belt anchorage/installation integrity, based on recurring real-world events and manufacturer service documentation.

NHTSA ID

11715417

Incident

Feb 2, 2026

Rear AC fails or does not turn on reliably, even with proper settings and a child in the back seat. • I live in Texas; inside temps can rapidly become dangerous, and a child’s body heats several times faster than an adult’s, increasing the risk of heatstroke. • The vehicle is under warranty, yet the defect remains unresolved and directly affects the safety of a restrained toddler who cannot move to cooler air

NHTSA ID

11703378

Incident

Mar 3, 2025

Front Passenger Seat Occupancy Sensor Defect – Tesla Vehicle In March 2025, my Tesla vehicle began displaying a warning message indicating a fault in the front passenger seat occupancy sensor system. I brought the car in for service on March 14, 2025, and the system was reportedly replaced. However, in April, the issue recurred — the seat sensor alarm would activate randomly, particularly after going over bumps, falsely indicating that a passenger was present when the seat was unoccupied. I returned the car to Tesla service, and they again claimed to have repaired the issue. Despite this, the false passenger occupancy alerts continued. In May, I contacted Tesla and submitted several videos clearly documenting the problem. Tesla performed a remote diagnostic and stated that the seat occupancy sensor was functioning as intended. On June 22, 2025, I brought the vehicle back in for in-person inspection. Tesla physically examined the vehicle and acknowledged that the false alarm could be reproduced in a similar model vehicle, effectively confirming a design defect. Despite this, Tesla maintained that the issue did not affect the safety or function of the front seat. I believe this defect presents two significant safety concerns: 1.The frequent false alarms are distracting during driving, increasing the risk of an accident. 2.The defect raises serious concerns about the reliability of airbag deployment and other safety systems, which rely on accurate seat occupancy detection in the event of a collision. I have video evidence and service documentation supporting the timeline and recurrence of this defect. The problem has been reviewed multiple times by Tesla service teams, both remotely and in person. Tesla has acknowledged the issue can be reproduced but has taken no corrective action. I have videos of the defect I can submit and documentation of my conversations with Tesla.

NHTSA ID

11668616

Incident

Mar 12, 2025

Received a sign on my car 4 times- front right safety restraint system fault All 4 times I have taken my car to get serviced for them to fix it but still sign returned 4 times total.

NHTSA ID

11626116

Incident

Nov 19, 2024

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 30 MPH, the front driver-side seat inadvertently adjusted the seat repeatedly; the contact had to pull over and allow the vehicle temperature to cool down for several minutes for the vehicle returned to normal operation. No warning light was illuminated however the "Restoring Driver Position Settings" warning message was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that his daughter was in a booster seat, seated in the rear driver-side seat and was repeatedly hit by the driver-side seat; the impact of the driver-side seat left no bruises however, the contact along with his wife, his daughter, and his son all experienced emotional distress due to the incident. No medical attention was sought. The vehicle was taken back to the place of residence. A dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 14,500.

NHTSA ID

11622243

Incident

Oct 27, 2024

Mileage

14,500 mi

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 24V051000 (Electrical System) and 24V554000 (Latches/Locks/Linkages, Electrical System); however, the contact was not able to perform the over the air software updates. The contact called and informed the manufacturer that the current operating system software was out of date. The contact stated that the operating system software version was 2023.44.30.8 and the newest version was 2024.20.3. The manufacturer informed the contact that the operating system was adequate. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ID

11617444

Incident

Sep 30, 2024

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model. The contact stated that whether driving, or while the vehicle was parked, the hood and the trunk of the vehicle occasionally opened independently. The vehicle was not taken to an independent mechanic or dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 13,000.

NHTSA ID

11616947

Incident

Feb 15, 2024

Mileage

13,000 mi

This has happened several times and I am unsure what to do to prevent it. I have small children who have various things in the back seats. Sometimes during sudden braking a water bottle or a toy will roll under the drivers seat and under the pedals which makes for a very scary situation. I’ve read online that this has happened to other Tesla owners as well. I hope that there can be a fix for this as currently there is no barrier between the drivers seat and the back seats.

NHTSA ID

11615879

Incident

Sep 18, 2024

My vehicle is less than a year old and still under warranty. The dashboard display is showing the following error message: “front passenger safety restraint system fault”. Tesla informed me that the occupant classification safety system filter module has failed and must be replaced. Tesla has agreed to fix the component under warranty, but they informed me they could not schedule a repair until October 31. It is my understanding that damage to this component could prevent the airbags from functioning properly during an accident, so I am concerned that the car is not safe to operate with passengers. I have asked Tesla repeatedly if the vehicle is safe to operate and they refuse to answer the question.

NHTSA ID

11611288

Incident

Aug 27, 2024

I’ve received repeated errors of front right safety restraint system needs service with an indication of the airbags being disabled. Tesla has attempted to fix this on two occasions by replacing various wiring and seat belt parts, but the problem returns each time.

NHTSA ID

11590269

Incident

Feb 28, 2024

We had our 5 year old son buckled in his forward facing car seat in the back passenger seat. When I started to drive my car, the front passenger seat started to move back, reclined on its own and fully crushed my sons legs in the back seat (fully reclined back). My son started to scream in pain. After securing the seat forward, we noticed our umbrella fell from the front seat and landed where you control the seat alignment in front. We were shocked to see that a 1 lbs umbrella can be heavy enough to control the seat alignment. If I hadn't quickly reacted to the seat moving back, it would have caused a serious fatal injury to my son. I strongly urge the manufacturer to consider fail proof ways to prevent this from happening.

NHTSA ID

11584291

Incident

Apr 20, 2024

On two occasions, once for me, and once for my wife, when adjusting the seatback, the switch stuck and the seatback shoved me forcefully into the steer wheel. Both times while we were driving. This could have easily caused an accident, or, for a heavier person, caused significant injury.

NHTSA ID

11578665

Incident

Mar 20, 2024

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while parked and the truck was opened, the truck closed on the child's head inadvertently. The contact stated that on another occasion while parked and the trunk was opened, the trunk closed inadvertently on her right middle, and ring fingers without sensing that an object was in the trunk's way. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ID

11561498

Incident

Dec 8, 2023

Driver seat started to move forward while driving. I had to think quick and pull he powerseat button back to stop the seat from moving forward. I stopped to pull over and readjusted the seat. While driving home the seat again started to move forward, I had to fight with the powerseat buttons to make sure I didn't get pushed too far forward and also not accidentally pull myself back too far that I couldn't reach the pedals. I couldn't even get out of car because the seat would not stop moving forward.

NHTSA ID

11561006

Incident

Dec 19, 2023

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while driving a variable speed with the front passenger's seat unoccupied, the front passenger's side door made abnormal rattling sounds. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure occurred mainly while driving on a bumpy road surface. Additionally, the contact stated that upon closing the door, she noticed that the door failed to close securely with approximately 5mm gap between the door and the frame. The vehicle was taken to a Tesla Service Center, who informed the contact that the door needed to be taken apart for diagnostics tests and declined to test drive the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The contact stated that a mobile Tesla Technician later inspected the vehicle at the residence and advised the contact to take the vehicle to the Tesla Service Center for a diagnostic test and repair. The contact was charged a repair cost. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 1,000.

NHTSA ID

11527875

Incident

Jan 15, 2023

Mileage

1,000 mi

I purchased a [Car Make, Model, Year] on [Date of Purchase] with the understanding that the vehicle was in excellent condition and safe for all passengers. Unfortunately, my experience has been far from satisfactory, as I have discovered multiple issues that were not disclosed to me during the purchase process. First and foremost, the car was misrepresented regarding its safety features and its suitability for passengers riding in the back. Since my purchase, I have noticed significant safety concerns for individuals seated in the back of the vehicle. The lack of proper safety restraints, along with inadequate seat belt functionality, poses a serious risk to the well-being of those riding in the rear seats. I find it deeply troubling that these critical safety aspects were not made known to me prior to the purchase. Moreover, my discontent is further compounded by the fact that, merely two months after my purchase, I discovered that the prices for the same make and model of the car were drastically reduced. This revelation indicates that I paid an inflated price for the vehicle, which is both unfair and unjustifiable. I believe it is only reasonable that I be compensated for this disparity, as it implies a breach of trust and fair business practices. Considering the circumstances described above, I kindly request the following actions to be taken: 1.Conduct a thorough inspection and rectification of the safety issues pertaining to the vehicle, specifically addressing the concerns related to passengers in the back seats. 2.Provide me with compensation for the price discrepancy, reflecting the difference between the price I paid and the drastically reduced prices that were implemented soon after my purchase. 3.Offer an apology for the misrepresentation and lack of disclosure during the sale, which has caused me significant inconvenience and distress. I believe that resolving this matter in an amicable manner is in the best interest of both parties involved.

NHTSA ID

11526781

Incident

Jan 2, 2023

The second row passenger side seat actuator will randomly engage or disengage the seat. This was discovered while a booster seat with a child was using the seat and the seat unlatched itself while driving causing the seat back to flip forward with the child in it hitting the back of the front passenger seat. The seat actuator continued to randomly engage or disengage the seat with or without passenger or when completely stowed flat. Once the initial incidence occurred the manufacturer was notified and a mobile service visit occurred. At the mobile service visit the technician verbally indicated they've seen another similar incident report on a similar make/model with a similar VIN number. The mobile technician was not able to resolve the issue and a follow up service appointment is scheduled. The incident reoccurs randomly with no warning lamps, messages or symptoms prior.

NHTSA ID

11520063

Incident

Apr 14, 2023