Collision Avoidance Assist
The following collision avoidance features are designed to increase the safety of you and your passengers:
- Forward Collision Warning - provides visual and audible (and in some regions, haptic feedback) warnings in situations when Model Y detects that there is a high risk of a frontal collision (see Forward Collision Warning).
- Automatic Emergency Braking - automatically applies braking to reduce the impact of a collision (see Automatic Emergency Braking).
- Obstacle-Aware Acceleration - reduces acceleration if Model Y detects an object in its immediate driving path (see Obstacle-Aware Acceleration).
Forward Collision Warning
Model Y monitors the area in front of it for the presence of an object such as a vehicle, motorcycle, bicycle, or pedestrian. If a collision is considered likely unless you take immediate corrective action, Forward Collision Warning is designed to sound a chime and highlight the vehicle in front of you in red on the touchscreen. If this happens, TAKE IMMEDIATE CORRECTIVE ACTION!
Visual and audible (and in some regions, haptic feedback) warnings cancel automatically when the risk of a collision has been reduced (for example, you have decelerated or stopped Model Y, or the object in front of your vehicle has moved out of your driving path).
If immediate action is not taken when Model Y issues a Forward Collision Warning, Automatic Emergency Braking (if enabled) may automatically apply the brakes if a collision is considered imminent (see Automatic Emergency Braking).
Forward Collision Warning operates only when driving between approximately 3 mph (5 km/h) and 124 mph (200 km/h).
Automatic Emergency Braking
Model Y is designed to determine the distance from detected objects. When a collision is considered unavoidable, Automatic Emergency Braking is designed to apply the brakes to reduce the vehicle's speed and therefore, the severity of the impact. The amount of speed that is reduced depends on many factors, including driving speed and environment.
When Automatic Emergency Braking applies the brakes, the touchscreen displays a visual warning and sounds a chime. You may also notice abrupt downward movement of the brake pedal. The brake lights turn on to alert other road users that you are slowing down.
Automatic Emergency Braking operates only when driving between approximately 3 mph (5 km/h) and 124 mph (200 km/h).
Automatic Emergency Braking does not apply the brakes, or stops applying the brakes, when:
- You turn the steering wheel sharply.
- You press and release the brake pedal while Automatic Emergency Braking is applying the brakes.
- You accelerate hard while Automatic Emergency Braking is applying the brakes.
- The vehicle, motorcycle, bicycle, or pedestrian is no longer detected in the front or rear of the vehicle.
Automatic Emergency Braking is always enabled when you start Model Y. To disable for your current drive, shift into Park and touch . Even if you disable Automatic Emergency Braking, your vehicle may still apply the brakes after detecting an initial collision to reduce further impact (see Multi-Collision Braking). When disabled, the touchscreen displays a visual message.
Multi-Collision Braking
In addition to Automatic Emergency Braking, Model Y may apply the brakes to prevent or mitigate a subsequent impact after an initial collision if airbag deployment is detected. The brakes may be applied regardless of driving speed.
Rear Cross Traffic Alert
When Model Y is in Reverse and the touchscreen is displaying the rear view camera feed, a vertical red bar appears when Model Y detects that an object (such as another vehicle or a pedestrian) is about to cross behind Model Y.
For example, if you are backing out of a parking space and another vehicle is approaching from your left, a red bar appears on the left side of the camera view. If there are objects approaching from both sides of Model Y, red bars appear on both sides of the camera view.
When Model Y is reversing and cross traffic is detected, Automatic Emergency Braking or Obstacle-Aware Acceleration may apply the brakes to attempt to avoid a collision. Do not rely on Automatic Emergency Braking or Obstacle-Aware Acceleration to prevent a collision. For more information, see Automatic Emergency Braking and Obstacle-Aware Acceleration.
Obstacle-Aware Acceleration
Obstacle-Aware Acceleration is designed to reduce the impact of a collision by reducing motor torque and in some cases applying the brakes, if Model Y detects an object in its driving path. The touchscreen displays a visual warning and sounds a chime when the brakes are automatically applied. For example, Model Y, while parked in front of a closed garage door with Drive engaged, detects that you have pressed hard on the accelerator pedal. Although Model Y still accelerates and hits the garage door, the reduced torque may result in less damage.
Obstacle-Aware Acceleration is designed to operate only when all of these conditions are simultaneously met:
- Drive or Reverse is engaged.
- Model Y is stopped or traveling less than 10 mph (16 km/h).
- Model Y detects an object in its immediate driving path.
To disable Obstacle-Aware Acceleration, touch
.Limitations and Inaccuracies
Collision Avoidance features cannot always detect all objects, vehicles, bikes, or pedestrians, and you may experience unnecessary, inaccurate, invalid, or missed warnings for many reasons, particularly if:
- The road has sharp curves.
- Visibility is poor (due to heavy rain, snow, fog, etc.).
- Bright light (such as from oncoming headlights or direct sunlight) is interfering with the view of the camera(s).
- A camera or sensor is obstructed (dirty, covered, fogged over, covered by a sticker, etc.).
- One or more of the sensors (if equipped) is damaged, dirty, or obstructed (such as by mud, ice, or snow, or by a vehicle bra, excessive paint, or adhesive products such as wraps, stickers, rubber coating, etc.).
- Weather conditions (heavy rain, snow, fog, or extremely hot or cold temperatures) are interfering with sensor operation.
- The sensors (if equipped) are affected by other electrical equipment or devices that generate ultrasonic waves.