US auto safety regulators have announced that they are initiating an investigation into approximately 280,000 newly manufactured Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles. This decision was made in response to 12 complaints received by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration from owners of 2023 Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles. The nature of these complaints revolved around issues related to a loss of steering control and power steering.
One incident, which occurred in May, involved a Model 3 driver who described feeling as if the car’s steering was stuck, resulting in the vehicle sliding off the road and crashing into a tree. In another incident in June, a driver in Alpharetta, Georgia, reported that their two-week-old Tesla Model Y experienced a sudden loss of steering control as they were exiting a shopping center. They managed to navigate to the opposite side of the traffic and eventually make it back into the shopping center. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has not yet commented on the matter.
This preliminary evaluation is the first step in a formal investigation, as the regulators aim to determine whether these reported issues pose an unreasonable safety risk. In order to mandate a recall, the NHTSA would need to escalate the investigation to an engineering analysis. One recent complaint highlighted a specific incident involving a Tesla Model Y that was less than 30 days old in April. According to the owner, upon starting the vehicle, the steering wheel jerked hard to the right, accompanied by a thudding sound. The car’s screen displayed a warning message indicating “Steering Assist Reduced” along with an error code. The driver expressed concerns about the disabled power steering, deeming it unsafe to continue operating the vehicle. They also mentioned that Tesla had rescheduled their service visit due to a backlog of parts and acknowledged that the entire steering rack might need to be replaced.
Another driver in Honolulu reported a similar issue with their Tesla, stating that their steering wheel would randomly lock up. They provided details about experiencing this problem on six different occasions before being able to bring the car to the Tesla service department. Currently, their vehicle is still at the service center, waiting for a new steering rack/motor and is expected to remain there for the next three weeks.
The announcement of this investigation by auto safety regulators is a response to multiple accounts of steering-related control issues and loss of power steering in Tesla vehicles.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
