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 S 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 S detects an object in its immediate driving path (see Obstacle-Aware Acceleration).

CAUTION

Ensure all cameras are clean and free of obstructions before each drive and before using Autopilot features (see Cleaning a Camera). Dirty cameras and sensors (if equipped), as well as environmental conditions such as rain and faded lane markings, can affect Autopilot performance. If a camera is obstructed or blinded, Model S displays a message on the instrument cluster and Autopilot features may not be available. For more information on specific alerts, see Troubleshooting Alerts.

Warning

Forward Collision Warning is for guidance purposes only and is not a substitute for attentive driving and sound judgment. Keep your eyes on the road when driving and never depend on Forward Collision Warning to warn you of a potential collision. Several factors can reduce or impair performance, causing either unnecessary, invalid, inaccurate, or missed warnings. Depending on Forward Collision Warning to warn you of a potential collision can result in serious injury or death.

Warning

Automatic Emergency Braking is not designed to prevent all collisions. In certain situations, it can minimize the impact of a collision by attempting to reduce your driving speed. Depending on Automatic Emergency Braking to avoid a collision can result in serious injury or death.

Warning

Obstacle-Aware Acceleration is not designed to prevent a collision. In certain situations, it can minimize the impact of a collision. Depending on Obstacle-Aware Acceleration to avoid a collision can result in serious injury or death.

Forward Collision Warning

Model S 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 instrument panel. If this happens, TAKE IMMEDIATE CORRECTIVE ACTION!

Screenshot of the detected vehicle in front of the Tesla highlighted in red

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 S, or the object in front of your vehicle has moved out of your driving path).

If immediate action is not taken when Model S 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).

By default, Forward Collision Warning is turned on. To turn off or adjust sensitivity, touch Controls > Autopilot > Forward Collision Warning. Instead of the default warning level of Medium, you can turn the warning Off, or you can choose to be warned Late or Early.

Note

Forward Collision Warning automatically resets to Medium at the beginning of each drive if you manually turn this feature Off.

Warning

The camera(s) and sensors (if equipped) associated with Forward Collision Warning are designed to monitor an approximate area of up to 160 meters in your driving path. The area being monitored by Forward Collision Warning can be adversely affected by road and weather conditions. Use appropriate caution when driving.

Warning

Forward Collision Warning is designed only to provide visual and audible alerts. It does not attempt to apply the brakes or decelerate Model S. When seeing and/or hearing a warning, it is the driver's responsibility to take immediate corrective action.

Warning

Forward Collision Warning may provide a warning in situations where the likelihood of collision may not exist. Stay alert and always pay attention to the area in front of Model S so you can anticipate whether any action is required.

Forward Collision Warning operates only when driving between approximately 5 km/h and 200 km/h.

Warning

Forward Collision Warning does not provide a warning when the driver is already applying the brake.

Automatic Emergency Braking

Model S 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 instrument panel 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.

Emergency braking in progress

Automatic Emergency Braking operates only when driving between approximately 5 km/h and 200 km/h.

Automatic Emergency Braking does not apply the brakes, or stops applying the brakes, when:

You turn the steering yoke (or 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 S. To disable for your current drive, shift into Park and touch Controls > Autopilot > Automatic Emergency Braking. 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.

Automatic Emergency Braking is disabled

Warning

It is strongly recommended that you do not disable Automatic Emergency Braking. If you disable it, Model S does not automatically apply the brakes in situations where a collision is considered likely.

Note

Automatic Emergency Braking is designed to reduce the impact of frontal and reverse collisions with limited functionality while in Reverse.

In the event Automatic Emergency Braking is unavailable, the touchscreen displays a visual warning.

Automatic Emergency Braking is not available

Warning

Automatic Emergency Braking is designed to reduce the severity of an impact. It is not designed to avoid a collision.

Warning

Several factors can affect the performance of Automatic Emergency Braking, causing either no braking or inappropriate or untimely braking, such as when a vehicle is partially in the path of travel or there is road debris. It is the driver’s responsibility to drive safely and remain in control of the vehicle at all times. Never depend on Automatic Emergency Braking to avoid or reduce the impact of a collision.

Warning

Automatic Emergency Braking is not a substitute for maintaining a safe traveling distance between you and the vehicle in front of you.

Warning

The brake pedal moves downward abruptly during automatic braking events. Always ensure that the brake pedal can move freely. Do not place material under or on top of the driver’s floor mat (including an additional mat) and always ensure that the driver’s floor mat is properly secured. Failure to do so can impede the ability of the brake pedal to move freely.

Multi-Collision Braking

In addition to Automatic Emergency Braking, Model S 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.

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 S detects an object in its driving path. The instrument panel displays a visual warning and sounds a chime when the brakes are automatically applied. For example, Model S, while parked in front of a closed garage door with Drive engaged, detects that you have pressed hard on the accelerator pedal. Although Model S 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 S is stopped or traveling less than 16 km/h.
Model S detects an object in its immediate driving path.

To disable Obstacle-Aware Acceleration, touch Controls > Autopilot > Obstacle-Aware Acceleration.

Warning

Obstacle-Aware Acceleration is designed to reduce the severity of an impact. It is not designed to avoid a collision.

Warning

Obstacle-Aware Acceleration may not limit torque in all situations, such as performing a sharp turn into a parking space. Several factors, including environmental conditions, distance from an obstacle, and a driver's actions, can limit, delay, or inhibit Obstacle-Aware Acceleration.

Warning

Do not rely on Obstacle-Aware Acceleration to control acceleration or to avoid, or limit, the severity of a collision, and do not attempt to test Obstacle-Aware Acceleration. Doing so can result in serious property damage, injury, or death.

Warning

Several factors can affect the performance of Obstacle-Aware Acceleration, causing an inappropriate or untimely reduction in motor torque and/or undesired braking. It is the driver's responsibility to drive safely and remain in control of Model S at all times.

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.

CAUTION

If a fault occurs with a Collision Avoidance Assist feature, Model S displays an alert. Contact Tesla Service.

CAUTION

Driver assistance features are automatically disabled when Track Mode is On. It is the driver’s responsibility to drive safely and be in control of the vehicle at all times, including on track. Driver Assistance features automatically re-enable when Track Mode is turned Off.

Warning

The limitations previously described do not represent an exhaustive list of situations that may interfere with proper operation of Collision Avoidance Assist features. These features may fail to provide their intended function for many other reasons. It is the driver’s responsibility to avoid collisions by staying alert, paying attention, and taking corrective action as early as possible.