Is phantom braking fixed?
The complaint that outlived more FSD versions than any other. Braking for a real obstacle is excluded — this is only the braking nobody could explain.
Coverage by software era
How much footage exists for this scenario in each build. Eras with fewer than 3 matching videos are marked — they are anecdotes, not evidence of a trend.
| Version | Moments | Failures | Highlights | Videos | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| v14 Lite | 1 | – | 1 | 1 / 1 | thin sample |
| v8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 / 12 | |
| v9 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 / 11 | |
| v10 | 27 | 11 | 16 | 21 / 55 | |
| v10.69 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 12 / 38 | |
| v11.3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 / 15 | thin sample |
| v11.4 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 9 / 35 | |
| v12.3 | 1 | – | 1 | 1 / 10 | thin sample |
| v12.4 | 1 | – | 1 | 1 / 7 | thin sample |
| v12.5 | 5 | – | 5 | 4 / 24 | |
| v14.1 | 12 | – | 12 | 8 / 14 | |
| v14.2 | 1 | – | 1 | 1 / 13 | thin sample |
| v14.3 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 7 / 22 |
Watch it happen
Worst first, newest builds first within each severity. Every card opens YouTube at the moment.
Hard unnecessary braking, cut over lines, went through a stop sign then tried to stop mid-road with ~60 mph traffic coming; he hit the accelerator to push through.
He describes posting an X video where if you do not take over the car zooms to the end of an ending lane then slams the brakes and tries to recover, which is dangerous if a car is beside you.
Creator intervenes because the car was accelerating toward a slower vehicle and would have braked hard, which he considers unsafe in snow.
Driver hits the brake thinking a pedestrian will walk out; she stops at the last second—called another totally unnecessary disengagement.
Navigate on Autopilot gets disabled right on time while the car hits the brake for no reason and keeps doing it.
A bird flies across the front of the car and FSD applies a huge unnecessary brake; Chris says the bird would have cleared without braking.
On what should be an easy left turn with a green light, the car pumps the brakes and stops for no reason.
A left turn that used to be a struggle goes well, then the car brakes randomly for no reason and he reports it.
Abrupt braking for no clear reason; driver wonders if FSD saw a car pulling out and was worried about it.
Wozniak describes Autopilot/cruise suddenly screeching the brakes from about 75 mph down to 25 mph on an interstate, sometimes with nothing around, saying it happened about 100 times.
Extreme harsh braking in an intersection with a green light, possibly mistaking a Red Bull truck for an emergency vehicle; he hit the accelerator to prevent FSD from stopping mid-intersection.
During messy reroutes Chris tells it not to brake, to move over and keep driving; car struggles until he feels they are back on track.
Beta hit the brakes hard with only slowdown chevrons shown; driver used the accelerator while speed limit was dropping from 45 to 35, possibly due to slower adjacent cars.
Stephanie reported Autopilot randomly lowered the top speed to 55 mph in a 65 mph zone, catching her off guard; also noted sensitivity around semis but no hard phantom braking for her.
Hit the accelerator after a very hard unexplained brake near the final segment; first counted intervention.
With no cars behind, the car keeps hitting the brake and creeping without reason; driver reports it and notes it is not destination-related.
On a new-ish route the car is briefly tripped by a scooter then makes a decent left but applies braking that was not needed.
He noted unwanted braking at a blinking yellow and said he would report it.
Car brakes for no reason and appears to choose a bad path down a road; driver calls it really bad but not a safety concern.
Car braked for no reason; he planned to report it, then waited for a car on the left before proceeding.
Unnecessary braking while yielding to a cyclist with little room to pass; driver thinks he may have tapped the accelerator but is unsure.
On a second attempt at the same intersection, beta braked when it did not need to, so he tapped the accelerator because someone was behind.
On an unprotected left it stopped far back, waited well, then was too slow/hesitant once clear; he tapped the accelerator to intervene.
States one intervention over the 1.5-mile Starbucks drive for unnecessary braking with traffic behind; he says he did not strictly need to intervene.
At a green light FSD waited too long while being polite to another driver, with an unnecessary brake touch and other drivers nearly crashing/honking.
At a destination with no obvious parking, FSD waited for pedestrians and did not jab the brakes at a spot where phantom braking was expected.
FSD applied a tiny brake that was not needed.
In a parking lot FSD did a sharp, unnecessary brake jab for a nearby pedestrian; he planned to report it though the person was somewhat close.
On the way home FSD hit the brakes hard with nothing nearby, producing rotor squeak; another instance of unexplained rain-related hard braking.
FSD brakes for nothing, initially appears set up for a bad left exit from a right-turn-only shaped outlet, then changes its mind and turns right instead.
Another unnecessary brake pump that Chris finds embarrassing and says he will report.
Chris noted an abrupt brake when FSD 14 did not really need to brake and could have stayed slow instead.
Repeated small unexpected brake stabs not felt on v13; creator suspects rain or early-build polish issues.
Overall drive had not a single phantom braking event, which the creator said seems eliminated compared to months earlier.
At the same area as earlier, lightly touched the brakes again with no clear need.
Hit the brakes with no reason he could see; he called it a phantom brake (brief brake then continue).
Car braked hard for dirt in the road that the Cybertruck did not brake for the day before; driver let it happen with nobody behind.
FSD braked because a car pulled out of a driveway to the left, which the creator said a normal person would not do.
Going up a hill it moved center/left then to the right at the crest, and braked for no clear reason; speed felt low vs their normal ~40 mph.
Repeated unnecessary braking and slight drift toward an opening right lane that the car then self-corrected; Chris reported it but did not take over.
Chris recalls 11.3.1 was great, then several updates got worse with more phantom braking, and after 11.3.6 marinated a couple weeks it started nailing every drive for him.
When two cars came quickly toward them, unlike 11.4.4 which often braked hard for such vehicles, this build did not brake unnecessarily and felt good.
Highway Autopilot update: it often pulled toward exits before signaling, and kept slowing down (soft phantom braking-like behavior), but was otherwise fine.
Chris has not seen or reproduced reports that FSD brakes for oncoming traffic on thin roads and notes he is still on 11.3.6 while that issue is tied to 11.4.
Unnecessary phantom braking down to about 54 mph; he presses the report button.
A little phantom braking occurred after the left-turn area.
Unneeded hard braking on a tree-shadowed road, including what he guessed was a forward collision alert, which he said was not improved from the last version.
Car braked again, possibly related to a crosswalk, then went in a circle with no destination.