2021 TESLA MODEL Y — Complaint #2131048
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR:HANDLE:EXTERIOR filed September 16, 2025
NHTSA complaint #2131048 (ODI reference 11687747) concerns a 2021 TESLA MODEL Y and was filed on September 16, 2025. The owner reports the failure occurred on June 23, 2025. The report was geocoded to Texas based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as structure:body:door:handle:exterior, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same TESLA MODEL Y cohort independently describe similar structure:body:door:handle:exterior failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2021 TESLA MODEL Y shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
Vehicle shut down and individual was locked in the car. Unable to release the doors. Incident occurred on June 23rd with a temp of 95 degrees and higher heat index. Individual was Stuck in the car in a parking garage with no one around to hear screams for help. Called home for assistance to come to the parking garage to help free them. Informed by online article about the Model Y 2021 model having other incidents of the same. We thought it was just a freak occurrence of our vehicle until reading about the probe. No warning indications that the auxiliary battery needed replacing that controls such functions. Tesla's Repair Notes: "The vehicle was unable to power on when parked, which was verified by the technician's inspection and the customer's report. The issue was caused by a failing 12V battery. The technician replaced the 12V battery to resolve the problem. After the replacement, all systems were checked and confirmed to be running properly"
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 2131048 |
| ODI Number | 11687747 |
| Date Filed | September 16, 2025 |
| Failure Date | June 23, 2025 |
| VIN | 5YJYGDEE2MF |
Similar STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR:HANDLE:EXTERIOR Complaints for 2021 TESLA MODEL Y
This incident appears to relate to NHTSA ongoing investigation at Tesla's low voltage battery system failure causing door handle malfunction. (September 26, 2025) 2021 Model Y front and rear doors (
On August 20th, 2025 at 2:50pm, my eight-month-old infant was trapped inside my Tesla Model Y for approximately 30 minutes due to a critical systems failure. The vehicle experienced an error with the
On July 5, 2025, I entered my vehicle parked in my home garage and the door latched shut. Upon putting my foot on the brake. Center screen was blank (did not power on). I attempted to press the unl
- Open rear passenger door and secured child in car seat. - Try to open driver side rear passenger door - which would not open. - Tried to open rear passenger door where child was in, and the door w
On [XXX], the car was parked at my regular parking garage. The valet entered to the car to bring it down for pick up. After he entered, the power on the vehicle went out and the door would not open.
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.